SANTA  BARBARA  STATH  COLLEGE  LIBRAE.  X 


TYPES  OF  TEACHING 


BY 

LIDA  B.  EARHART,  Ph.D. 

Author  of tl  Systematic  Study  in  the  Elementary  Schools" 

and  "  Teaching  Children  to  Study" 

Formerly  Professor  of  Elementary  Education  in  the 

University  of  Nebraska 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 

By  HENRY  SUZZALLO,  Ph.D. 
President  of  the  University  of  Washington 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

BOSTON  •  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO  •   DALLAS 

SAN  FRANCISCO 
<E$e  fctbersibf  $re££  Cambridge 


COPYRIGHT,   IQIS,   BY  LIDA  B.  EARHART 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


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PROFESSOR  AND  MBS.  FRANK  M. 


FA  BARBARA  STATE  COLLEGE  LIBRAR 


PREFACE 

SOME  experiments  conducted  by  the  writer  a  fe\n 
years  ago  gave  evidence  that  teachers  were  not  clear  in 
their  own  minds  as  to  what  they  desired  their  pupils  to 
do  when  they  studied  their  lessons.  There  were  strong 
indications  that  they  wanted  the  contents  of  textbooks 
memorized.  Aside  from  memorizing,  there  was  little 
suggested  that  was  definite.  This  lack  of  knowledge  of 
the  true  nature  of  study  indicates  a  lack  of  knowledge 
of  the  nature  of  subject-matter,  of  the  purposes  it 
serves,  and  also  of  the  various  forms  of  teaching 
through  which  the  ends  of  education  are  accomplished. 
Experience  both  with  teachers  in  training  and  with 
teachers  in  their  own  classrooms  confirms  the  idea  that 
many  are  limited  in  their  understanding  of  subject- 
matter  and  in  their  use  of  method. 

From  the  writer's  close  relation  with  the  school- 
room has  grown  the  attempt  to  remedy  the  situation 
just  described.  Both  exposition  and  illustration  have 
been  employed.  The  many  examples  cited  have  been 
taken  from  actual  lessons,  hence  they  show  what  can 
be  done.  They  are  not  free  from  error  and  weakness, 
and  this  fact  should  encourage  those  who  seek  to  im- 
prove their  own  procedure.  Perfection  in  the  model 
studied  arouses  suspicion  that  it  is  not  true  to  life  and 
cannot  be  realized  in  actual  practice. 


vi  PREFACE 

It  is  perhaps  not  too  strong  a  statement  to  say  that 
the  prevailing  fault  with  teachers  is  that  they  go  before 
their  classes,  day  after  day,  without  having  definite 
aims  in  mind,  and  without  having  determined  how 
they  will  teach  the  lessons.  They  have  not  decided 
whether  they  are  to  increase  knowledge,  to  form  hab- 
its, to  influence  feelings,  or  to  establish  some  new  rela- 
tions among  ideas  already  known.  The  chapters  here 
presented  are  intended  to  remedy  this  situation,  and  to 
help  teachers  decide  definitely  what  the  nature  of  each 
lesson  is  to  be. 

The  subject  of  lesson  plans  has  been  treated  from 
two  viewpoints.  There  is  the  complete  plan  for  those 
who  are  in  training,  or  for  the  teacher  who  wishes  to 
work  out  an  entire  unit  of  subject-matter.  There  is 
also  the  condensed  plan  for  those  who  must  cover 
several  lessons  every  day,  and  who  cannot  possibly 
amplify  the  plan  for  each  recitation  period.  Teachers 
must  learn  to  do  in  planning  what  they  expect  their 
pupils  to  do  in  studying,  —  see  the  main  points  and 
keep  them  in  mind. 

The  author's  indebtedness  to  Professor  John  Dewey 
for  his  conception  of  education  will  be  apparent  to  the 
reader.  It  is  freely  acknowledged.  The  services  of  the 
many  who  have  contributed  lesson  plans,  or  who  have 
taught  the  lessons  which  have  been  reported,  are  recog- 
nized with  gratitude.  To  Professor  F.  M.  McMurry 
thanks  are  due  for  suggestive  criticism.  Grateful  appre- 
ciation is  hereby  rendered  to  Professor  Henry  Suzzallo, 


PREFACE  vii 

whose  counsel  helped  to  determine  the  character  of  the 
book.  He  must  share  largely  the  responsibility  for  the 
fact  that  it  was  written  at  all. 

LIDA  B.  EARHART. 

NEW  YORK, 
October  20.  1914. 


PREFACE  TO  REVISED  EDITION 

THE  philosophy  of  education  has  been  moving  forward 
along  certain  clearly  defined  lines  in  recent  years,  and 
teachers  and  writers  are  seeking  to  embody  this  phi- 
losophy in  practice  and  in  literature.  Several  theories, 
while  receiving  wide  attention,  are  still  in  so  incom- 
plete a  stage  as  to  require  much  criticism  and  careful 
experimentation  to  establish  on  a  firm  and  working 
basis  the  elements  of  truth  and  helpfulness  which  they 
undoubtedly  possess. 

Among  these  theories  may  be  included  those  relat- 
ing to  supervised  study,  the  project  method,  the  so- 
cialized recitation,  socialization  of  the  curriculum,  and 
silent  reading.  These  movements  are  outgrowths  of 
ideas  which  were  receiving  some  attention  at  the  time 
this  book  was  written,  and  which  were  discussed  in  the 
various  chapters.  In  order  to  make  the  book  more  use- 
ful to  students  at  the  present  time,  the  bibliography 
has  been  revised  so  as  to  include  the  more  recent  litera- 
ture, not  only  on  the  theories  mentioned,  but  also 
along  other  lines.  Additional  exercises  which  experi- 


viii  PREFACE 

ence  has  shown  to  be  helpful  have  been  prepared  for  a 
number  of  the  chapters. 

It  is  believed  that  these  new  aids  will  not  only  ex- 
tend the  field  of  educational  thought  for  those  who 
study  the  book,  but  that  they  will  also  indicate  larger 
possibilities  for  the  application  of  this  thought  to 
practice. 

LIDA  B.  EARHART. 
UNIVERSITY  OF  NEBRASKA* 

September  7,  1921, 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION.  BY  HENRY  SUZZALLO ri 

—    I.  SUBJECT-MATTER:  ITS  NATURE,  DEVELOPMENT, 

AND  PURPOSES 1 

II.  WHERE  EDUCATION  MUST  BEGIN  ....  16 
HI.  WHAT  SCHOOL  EDUCATION  SHOULD  ACCOMPLISH  22 
IV.  MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION  ...  28 

V.  EXERCISES  WHICH  AIM  AT  THE  DISCOVERY  OF 
GENERAL  KNOWLEDGE.  THE  INDUCTIVE 
LESSON 38 

VI.  LESSONS  IN  WHICH  GENERAL  KNOWLEDGE  is 

EMPLOYED.  THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON      .      .    55 

-  VIE.  THE  STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES  .      .    70 

VUL  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS       ....    80 

IX.  THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE 93 

X.  THE  AROUSAL  AND  GUIDANCE  OF  APPRECIATION  109 

XI.  SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES 130 

XII.  THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  AND  THE  INCREASE 

OF  SKILL 150 

XTO.  SCHOOL  EXERCISES  WHICH  INVOLVE  REVIEW     .  178 

XIV.   TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY 192 

XV.  MAKING  LESSON  PLANS 220 

APPENDIX:  SUGGESTIONS  FOR  LESSON  PLANS       .      .  237 

OUTLINE 265 

INDEX  271 


INTRODUCTION 

A  NEW  volume  on  the  art  of  teaching  is  here  pre- 
sented. It  is  offered  to  the  professional  public  in  the 
belief  that  its  discussion  of  the  theory  of  proper  class- 
room procedure  will  be  more  helpful  to  the  average 
practitioner  than  the  works  hitherto  available.  Large 
as  have  been  the  contributions  of  the  pedagogical  texts 
published  within  the  last  decade,  the  perpetual  need 
of  a  simpler  and  more  practical  statement  remains. 
There  is,  too,  the  necessity  for  incorporating  in  book 
form  such  new  facts  as  have  been  revealed  by  the 
numerous  inquiries  and  experiments  of  the  last  few 
years.  The  present  volume  is,  therefore,  a  reinterpre- 
tation  of  teaching  procedure,  stated,  as  far  as  possible, 
in  the  current  and  familiar  phraseology  of  ordinary 
teachers,  yet  taking  into  account  the  recent  investiga- 
tions of  our  ablest  educational  thinkers.  It  offers  a 
combination  of  scholarship  and  practicality  rarely 
found  in  teachers'  texts. 

The  teachers  of  the  primary  school  will  be  quick  to 
appreciate  the  worth  of  the  pedagogical  principles  here 
elucidated.  Their  experience  with  progressive  practice 
is  now  ample  enough  to  make  them  sense  fully  the 
importance  of  generalizations  which  take  modern 
experimentation  into  account.  They  will  welcome  a 


rii  INTRODUCTION 

systematic  summary  which  clarifies  many  obscure 
points,  resolves  long-debated  issues,  and  shows  the 
practical  bearing  of  abstract  laws. 

Teachers  in  secondary  schools  will  find  in  this  trea- 
tise much  that  is  novel.  They  have  so  recently  turned 
from  traditional  practice  to  scientific  theory  that  they 
will  find  more  that  is  suggestive  in  this  volume  than 
their  colleagues  from  the  lower  schools.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  teaching  difficulties  have  been  multiply- 
ing with  such  great  rapidity  as  to  make  help  welcome 
from  any  direction,  the  high-school  instructor  has 
been  repelled  by  current  texts  because  these  have  been 
written  almost  exclusively  from  the  point  of  view  of 
elementary  school  practice.  He  will  be  glad  to  read  a 
book  which  meets  him  halfway. 

There  was  a  time,  not  long  since,  when  the  institu- 
tion of  teaching  method  was  scantily  accepted  even 
among  elementary  school  teachers.  Now  that  recogni- 
tion is  won  there,  the  battleground  shifts  to  the  teach- 
ers of  our  secondary  schools.  It  may  be  said  that  we 
are  just  at  the  beginning  of  the  movement  to  prove  the 
worth  of  modern  pedagogical  procedure  to  the  higher 
schools.  An  inquiry  into  the  misconceptions  which 
must  be  fought  will  do  much  to  indicate  the  difficulties 
of  that  campaign. 

An  initial  misconception  which  will  be  encountered 
is  the  belief  of  many  teachers  that  "there  is  nothing  in 
teaching  method;  that  one  has  only  to  know  his  subject 
thoroughly  to  teach  it  well."  This  is  a  view  widely 


INTRODUCTION  riii 

Iield  by  instructors  in  high  schools,  more  particularly 
those  trained  in  the  universities.  It  is  very  largely  the 
reflection  of  the  attitude  of  their  college  teachers. 

To  give  the  origin  of  such  a  prejudice  is  to  offer  the 
best  criticism  of  it.  The  university  instructor  does  not 
appreciate  the  importance  of  teaching  methods  merely 
because  his  greatest  difficulties  do  not  lie  in  this  par- 
ticular direction.  The  students  that  he  teaches  are 
not  far  removed  from  the  maturity  of  his  own  mind. 
The  gap  to  be  bridged  is  slight.  His  own  scientific 
organization  of  thought  almost  suffices  to  reach  them- 
At  least  his  partial  failure  with  a  traditional  college 
clientele  is  not  dramatic  enough  to  attract  his  atten- 
tion. But  he  is  very  much  concerned  with  advancing 
the  margins  of  knowledge  and  with  acquiring  the  latest 
known  truth.  Here  he  finds  his  major  problem.  His 
chief  difficulty  is  to  equip  himself  with  content.  Hence 
with  him,  scholarship  is  everything  and  teaching  pro- 
cess nothing  at  all.  His  prejudice  against  any  large 
emphasis  upon  modes  of  presenting  knowledge  is 
merely  an  expression  of  his  accidental  state  of  mind. 
It  is  a  naive  generalization  from  his  personal  situa- 
tion. 

The  case  is  quite  the  contrary  among  primary 
teachers.  They  were  the  first  to  recognize  and  develop 
a  theory  of  teaching  method.  The  facts  and  skills  with 
which  a  teacher  of  little  children  is  concerned  are 
so  elementary  as  to  be  a  common  possession  among 
adults.  Scholarship  is  not  a  problem,  but  its  presenta- 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

tion  is.  The  distance  between  the  teacher's  sober  and 
abstract  mind  and  the  playful,  active,  and  concrete 
interests  of  boys  and  girls  is  great.  The  chief  problem 
is  to  bridge  the  gap.  Thus  artfulness  in  teaching 
becomes  the  major  task.  Hence  the  readiness  of  prim- 
ary teachers  to  believe  in  the  magical  properties  of 
method  and  device.  They,  too,  are  merely  expressing 
their  own  accidental  attitude  of  mind,  judging  naively 
from  a  special  case. 

The  secondary  teacher's  midway  position  between 
the  college  and  the  primary  school  creates  his  dilemma. 
By  situation,  scholarship  is  to  him  more  than  to  the 
elementary  teacher,  and  teaching  methods  more  than 
to  the  college  professor.  Tradition  and  training  have 
allied  him  with  university  men;  and  in  the  past  he  has 
shared  their  points  of  view.  But  the  increasing  horde 
of  unselected  youth  that  comes  to  him  from  the  ele- 
mentary school  now  creates  difficulties  which  make 
him  more  and  more  sympathetic  with  the  elementary 
school's  methods  of  adjustment.  Relaxing  his  tradi- 
tional over-confidence  in  mere  scholarly  attainment 
and  developing  a  new  tolerance  for  the  mental  life  of 
youth,  he  turns  hopefully  toward  the  promises  of  peda- 
gogical theory.  Perhaps  when  a  decade  or  more  has 
passed  and  his  mind  has  assimilated  the  new  technique 
of  modern  teaching,  he  will  reveal,  better  than  the 
teachers  above  or  below  him,  that  true  synthesis  of 
scholarship  and  teaching  method  which  every  teacher 
should  bear  in  mind. 


INTRODUCTION  rv 

But  teachers,  whatever  their  location  in  the  educa- 
tional system,  have  been  prone  to  rely  on  too  narrow 
a  range  of  teaching  methods.  If  they  but  saw  that 
each  teaching  method  has  only  a  relative  worth,  they 
would  be  more  versatile.  A  method  of  teaching  is  only 
a  means  to  an  end.  Modify  the  purpose  or  the  condi- 
tion of  operation,  and  the  procedure  should  change. 
Yet  teachers  have  shown  little  capacity  for  remember- 
ing this  fact.  Traditional  methods;  born  of  the  need  to 
teach  a  dead  language,  have  been  transferred  bodily 
to  the  teaching  of  a  live  mode  of  speech.  What  has 
been  used  in  spelling  has  been  copied  hi  geography. 
Drill,  with  a  proper  sanction  in  one  place,  is  indis- 
criminately applied.  Objectification,  of  supreme  value 
with  beginners  in  any  domain,  is  prolonged  to  the 
point  where  it  interferes  with  effective  thought.  We 
need  to  know  that  every  method  is  a  specialized  in- 
strument, and  just  because  it  has  one  great  strength 
carries  many  incompetencies.  It  must  be  used  in  place, 
for  its  own  particular  condition  and  end.  In  the  whole 
range  of  school  activities  it  must  be  supplemented  by 
many  other  special  means.  There  is  no  one  best  method 
for  school  teachers.  Each  procedure  is  best  for  a  specific 
purpose  or  condition,  and  many  are  required  to  meet 
all  the  variations  in  school  life.  I  Hence  the  ad  vent  of  a 
better  teaching  technique  will  be  hastened  if  we  admit, 
at  the  outset,  that  all  special  means  of  teaching  have 
only  a  particular  worth;  that  the  teacher  must  be  ver- 
satile in  the  use  of  methods;  and  that  the  best  that 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

theory  can  do  is  to  suggest  the  spirit  and  the  law  of  the 
teaching  adjustment  and  to  describe  those  types  of 
teaching  which  in  real  practice  are  found  only  in 
infinite  variation. 

HENRY  SUZZALLO. 

TEACHERS  COLLEGE, 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITT, 
December, 


TYPES  OF  TEACHING 


SUBJECT-MATTER:  ITS  NATURE,   DEVELOPMENT, 
AND  PURPOSES 

Need  of  understanding  what  subject-matter  is 

THE  expression  "subject-matter"  is  frequently  as- 
sociated with  that  body  of  knowledge  which  is  to  be 
taught  from  books  only.  The  method  of  teaching  it 
often  consists  of  having  the  contents  of  books  read  or 
memorized  with  but  little  consideration  given  to  their 
meaning  or  worth.  Since  an  understanding  of  what 
subject-matter  is,  and  a  clear  view  of  the  purposes  it 
serves,  have  a  strong  influence  upon  the  methods 
employed  in  teaching  it,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  be- 
gin our  discussion  of  methods  with  a  review  of  that 
to  which  the  method  is  to  be  applied. 

Where  subject-matter  first  exists 

In  the  first  place,  subject-matter  always  exists  in 
some  form  outside  of  books  before  it  is  committed  to 
book  form.  This  has  been  true  of  the  past,  and  it  holds 
true  of  the  present  time.  Through  accident  or  design, 
through  the  exigencies  of  life  or  by  reflective  thought, 
new  ideas,  new  ways  of  acting  and  of  doing  things,  have 


*  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

come  into  existence.  The  books  on  primitive  life 
which  have  been  published  within  recent  years  have 
put  before  us  in  greatly  condensed  periods  the  progress 
of  man  from  stage  to  stage  of  his  material  and  intel- 
lectual development.  Tormented  by  hunger,  he  learned 
how  to  capture  and  kill  the  wild  animals,  how  to  till 
the  soil  and  care  for  his  crops.  The  presence  of  foes 
compelled  him  to  devise  means  of  protection  for  him- 
self and  of  destruction  for  them.  New  forms  of  dan- 
ger necessitated  the  invention  of  new  modes  of  self- 
protection.  A  recent  magazine  article  by  a  well-known 
writer 1  shows  us  this  thought  clearly.  In  the  Place  of 
Departed  Spirits,  one  who  had  preyed  upon  his  fellows 
with  teeth  and  hands  cried  aloud  for  judgment  upon 
the  man  who  had  killed  him  by  throwing  stones.  The 
thrower  of  stones  pleaded  the  necessity  of  devising 
this  means  of  self-defense,  and  in  turn  denounced  the 
man  who,  by  means  of  bow  and  arrow,  had  rendered 
stone-throwing  futile.  The  archer,  in  turn,  urged  his 
need  of  protecting  himself  from  the  stone-thrower, 
and  denounced  the  use  of  armor  and  battle-axes  which 
had  made  his  mode  of  warfare  of  no  avail.  The  man 
in  armor  complained  of  the  invention  of  gunpowder; 
and  so  the  story  proceeds,  showing  how  stern  neces- 
sity had  compelled  people  to  think  and  to  act  and  to 
advance  in  proficiency. 

One  tries  vainly  to  imagine  how  the  discovery  was 

1  Kipling,  "The  Benefactors,"  in  The  American  Magazine,  vol. 
74.  p.  258. 


SUBJECT-MATTER  3 

made  that  vegetable  and  animal  fibers  can  be  twisted 
into  threads,  nor  do  we  know  how  or  by  whom  the  first 
spindle  was  invented.  From  twisting  with  the  fingers 
to  twisting  with  a  cleft  stick  weighted  with  clay  was  a 
long  step.  From  the  cleft  stick  to  the  metal  spindle 
was  another  stage  of  progress.  From  the  spindle  to 
the  spinning  wheel  was  a  tremendous  advance;  and 
the  invention  of  the  spinning  jenny  is  so  great  an  ac- 
complishment that  the  simple  spindle  seems  utterly 
insignificant;  yet  both  are  responses  to  a  fundamental 
need  of  man,  —  the  need  of  clothing. 

Many  forms  of  thought  and  action 

As  man's  needs  were  many,  his  activities  leading  to 
their  satisfaction  were  many.  He  constantly  devised 
and  invented  processes,  tools,  weapons,  means  of  con> 
munication,  of  transportation,  of  recreation,  of  amuse- 
ment, of  religious  worship,  and  the  like.  His  reflec- 
tions as  to  his  own  origin  and  the  source  of  all  that  he 
saw  about  him,  his  relation  to  the  Supreme  Being,  his 
duty  to  his  fellow  men,  led  him  to  a  simple  philosophy. 
Barter  led  to  a  means  of  computing.  With  increasing 
population  came  specialization  of  labor  and  the  growth 
of  manufacturing,  as  well  as  a  host  of  other  activities 
suited  to  the  new  conditions. 

Need  of  transmitting  modes  of  activity 

But  once  having  been  attained,  these  thought  prod- 
ucts and  these  various  modes  of  activity  had  to  be 


4  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

communicated  to  others,  especially  to  the  young  of 
the  race,  in  order  that  these  might  profit  by  them  and 
might  in  turn  participate  helpfully  in  the  affairs  of  the 
family,  tribe,  or  nation. 

What  subject-matter  was  originally 

These  various  ways  of  doing  things  and  of  thinking 
about  things  which  were  passed  on  from  the  older 
members  of  society  to  the  younger  constituted  the 
subject-matter  of  instruction.  Thus  the  shaping  of 
arrowheads,  the  manner  of  snaring  wild  game,  of  catch- 
ing fish,  of  making  clothing,  of  building  shelters,  of 
tracking  enemies,  —  these  and  many  other  processes, 
in  addition  to  a  certain  fund  of  knowledge,  traditions, 
and  superstitions,  which  had  accumulated  from  re- 
motest times,  made  up  the  body  of  subject-matter  im- 
parted to  the  rising  generation.  By  means  of  it,  the 
young  of  the  tribe  were  taught  how  to  preserve  life, 
how  to  destroy  the  foe;  were  taught  what  feelings  they 
should  have  toward  the  tribal  enemies,  what  their 
duties  to  their  own  social  unit  were,  what  the  ex- 
planations of  natural  phenomena  were,  how  they 
should  regard  the  Great  Power  which  manifested 
itself  in  the  world  about  them,  and  how  they  should 
worship  it. 

It  was  life  with  its  processes,  its  arts,  and  its  indus- 
tries; life  with  its  freight  of  cultivated  beliefs,  feelings, 
and  ideas,  which  was  handed  down  as  a  precious  her- 
itage from  one  generation  to  another. 


SUBJECT-MATTER  6 

The  integral  nature  of  subject-matter 

This  heritage,  thus  transmitted,  was  a  closely  inter- 
woven whole,  not  a  mass  of  distinct,  disconnected 
parts.  Subject-matter  was  a  unit  and  was  not  divided 
into  separate  subjects  such  as  are  to-day  listed  in  all 
courses  of  study.  This  was  doubtless  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  teaching  was  done  hi  connection  with  the 
everyday  life  of  the  young  people  and  was  not  con- 
ducted in  a  separate  place,  at  a  special  time,  and  by 
people  who  devoted  themselves  exclusively  to  the  art 
of  teaching.  It  was  taught  while  in  the  very  process  of 
serving  its  intrinsic  or  direct  function,1  which  is  the 
function  which  it  serves  in  the  world  of  life  aside  from 
the  scholastic  world  of  classes,  books,  and  schoolrooms. 

Effect  of  books  upon  subject-matter 

Nor  was  the  matter  to  be  taught  cooped  up  in  books 
as  is  now  so  generally  the  case.  It  is  conceivable  that  the 
introduction  of  books  tended  to  set  apart  that  which 
was  taught  from  its  direct  association  with  life  and 
its  processes,  to  render  it  fixed  and  less  susceptible  to 
change,  and  ultimately  to  result  in  a  body  of  knowledge 
more  or  less  isolated  from  the  world  of  active  life  and  re- 
garded by  some  as  being  more  valuable  on  that  account. 

Subject-matter  modifiable 

Subject-matter  in  its  original  place,  hi  the  world 
outside  of  schools  and  books,  is  subject  to  modifica- 
1  W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  chap.  ra. 


6  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

tion.  The  conditions  which  called  it  into  existence 
may  pass;  hence  the  need  of  employing  certain  knowl- 
edge or  processes  may  pass ;  and,  as  far  as  social  usage 
is  concerned,  certain  units  of  subject-matter  have 
thus  ceased  to  exist.  A  textbook  in  arithmetic,  pub- 
lished in  the  early  days  of  our  national  life,  required 
the  pupils  to  find  the  value  in  Maryland  money  of  a 
certain  sum  of  Massachusetts  money.  With  uniform 
coinage,  such  problems  are  useless.  With  modern 
banking  conditions,  sight  drafts  of  a  kind  once  em- 
ployed are  no  longer  necessary;  and  with  business 
Uansacted  through  stock  companies,  partnership  with 
the  time  element  becomes  obsolete.  A  military  acad- 
emy which  spent  much  of  its  time  teaching  the  modes 
of  warfare  employed  even  a  few  hundred  years  ago 
would  be  considered  a  poor  agency  to  prepare  men  for 
the  national  defense.  A  consideration  of  other  forms 
of  activity  will  reveal  similar  changes  due  to  altered 
conditions. 

Not  only  is  it  true  that  some  forms  of  subject-mat- 
ter fall  into  disuse  because  they  are  no  longer  necessi- 
tated by  conditions ;  it  is  also  true  that  they  are  changed 
and  improved  by  the  genius  of  man.  Chemistry  is 
very  different  from  the  alchemy  which  preceded  it, 
and  astronomy  is  a  great  advance  upon  astrology. 
Long  division  and  the  use  of  the  decimal  system  are 
not  such  ancient  history  but  that  we  may  see  how  supe- 
rior they  are  to  the  methods  which  antedated  them. 
Even  a  little  reflection  upon  the  arts  and  industries  of 


SUBJECT-MATTER  7 

modern  life  will  convince  one  that  they  have  been  greatly 
altered  from  their  original  form  by  man's  intellectual 
activity;  and  while  some  may  question  whether  all 
have  been  unproved,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in 
most  cases,  at  least,  the  change  has  been  for  the  better. 

The  development  of  new  subject-matter 

We  have  seen  that  certain  modes  of  activity  and 
certain  beliefs  have  been  quite  outgrown,  and  that 
others  have  been  modified,  improved,  and  made  to 
suit  changing  conditions.  In  addition  to  these  varia- 
tions, new  ideas  and  new  forms  of  activity  have  come 
into  being,  or  are  at  the  present  time  in  the  process  of 
becoming.  The  whole  science  of  aeronautics  is  still 
in  the  formative  stage.  Chemistry  extends  its  bounds 
from  year  to  year.  Electrical  engineers  present  new 
accomplishments  constantly.  Philosophy  takes  now 
this  turn  and  now  that,  and  refuses  to  remain  fixed. 
The  fields  of  sociology  and  economics  are  just  fairly 
opening  up,  and  the  next  few  years  will  doubtless  see 
great  development  in  them.  The  use  of  the  turbine 
engine  has  already  greatly  affected  transportation, 
and  the  possibilities  of  the  monorail  car  with  its  gyro- 
scope are  not  fully  developed.  The  wireless  tele- 
phone and  telegraph  are  still  so  recent  as  to  be  ranked 
with  the  marvelous.  In  short,  it  is  difficult  to  think 
of  any  field  of  human  thought  or  action  which  is  not 
changing  in  one  or  more  of  the  three  ways  above 
described.  Either  some  part  becomes  obsolete  and  is 


8  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

discontinued,  or  some  part  is  adapted  to  altered  needs 
and  conditions,  or  entirely  new  elements  are  added 
from  time  to  time  as  human  thought  faces  and  over- 
comes new  situations,  or  sees  the  possibility  of  meeting 
old  ones  in  new  ways. 

The  subject-matter  of  the  schools  and  changing  social 
conditions 

Are  the  modifications  which  society  works  out  re- 
flected in  the  material  taught  in  the  schools?  Is  the 
intrinsic,  or  direct,  function  of  subject-matter  the 
dominant  one?  In  the  first  place,  have  all  the  obsolete 
processes  been  discontinued?  An  examination  of  the 
books  used  by  pupils  would  reveal  the  presence  of 
some  material  and  some  processes  which  are  either 
quite  behind  the  times,  or  which  are  employed  by  so 
few  people  that  it  can  hardly  be  considered  the  func- 
tion of  schools  meant  for  all  the  people  to  impart 
them.  We  still  persist  with  the  extraction  of  cube  and 
square  roots;  with  cases  hi  bank  discount  which  in- 
volve finding  the  time  or  the  rate  of  discount;  and 
with  tables  of  denominate  numbers  which  are  em- 
ployed by  a  limited  class  who,  after  their  public  school 
course  is  ended,  must  make  special  preparation  for 
their  careers.  The  schools  continue  to  insist  upon  cer- 
tain uses  of  the  marks  of  punctuation  which  business 
people  no  longer  follow.1 

1  See  The  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  iv,  No.  2,  for  further 
suggestions  in  regard  to  subject-matter  which  no  longer  has  in- 
trinsic value. 


SUBJECT-MATTER  9 

Frequently  the  schools  are  slow  in  introducing  the 
changes  which  are  an  established  part  of  social  usage. 
We  might  expect  some  lagging  behind  until  the  new 
processes  have  been  found  adequate  and  worthy,  but 
even  after  proof  of  worth  and  usefulness  has  been  es- 
tablished, the  schools  still  fail  to  introduce  the  newer 
forms.  Business  employs  interest  tables,  typewriters, 
counting-machines,  and  other  devices  for  saving  time 
and  securing  accuracy.  How  many  schools  teach  their 
use,  or  see  to  it  that  their  pupils  know  that  such  de- 
vices exist?  How  many  plasterers,  paperhangers,  and 
carpenters  make  their  calculations  as  do  the  pupils 
in  our  schools?  What  age  of  literary  production  is 
represented  by  the  readers  and  supplementary  mate- 
rial furnished  to  the  pupils,  in  our  elementary  schools 
especially?  People  outside  of  school  are  much  inter- 
ested at  present  in  getting  acquainted  with  the  world's 
best  music  through  the  mechanical  devices  which 
make  this  possible.  How  many  schools  are  still  con- 
tent to  do  nothing  in  music  except  to  teach  note-read- 
ing and  such  songs  as  the  pupils  themselves  can  render? 
How  many  are  affected  either  in  material  or  method 
by  the  present  great  musical  movement?  There  was 
a  time  when  young  people  went  to  work  at  some 
business  or  trade  in  which  they  secured  their  technical 
training  during  a  period  of  apprenticeship.  Society 
demands  a  different  plan,  in  these  later  days,  and  the 
educational  world  is  attempting  to  respond.  The 
schools  must  prepare  for  the  occupations  at  the  pres- 


10  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

ent  time,  and  they  are  much  engrossed  in  trying  to 
catch  up  with  the  social  requirement. 

One  result  of  this  technical  teaching  in  the  schools 
will  be  to  bring  the  schools  back  again  into  that  close 
contact  with  life  which  has  for  some  time  been  lacking. 
The  highly  technical  schools  have  kept  this  contact, 
and  instead  of  falling  behind  in  subject-matter,  they 
have  forged  ahead  of  social  usage  and  have  given  the 
world  most  valuable  assistance.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  refer  to  the  magnificent  work  of  our  schools  of  agri- 
culture to  justify  this  statement. 

Why  the  intrinsic  function  of  subject-matter  is  not 
made  more  prominent  in  the  schools. 

(a)  One  reason  why  the  schools  are  somewhat  behind 
the  times  in  the  processes  and  ideas  which  they  teach 
has  already  been  stated.  It  is  because  the  schools  lead 
an  existence  isolated  to  a  certain  extent  from  partici- 
pation in  the  affairs  of  everyday  life.  The  teacher's 
calling  demands  much  time  and  energy,  and  compara- 
tively few  people  combat  the  inertia  which  tends  to 
keep  things  constantly  in  the  same  state.  A  teacher 
needs  extended  and  varied  experience,  keen  insight, 
and  almost  endless  patience  in  order  to  keep  pace 
with  social  advance  and  to  keep  her  classes  in  touch 
with  it,  to  say  nothing  of  bringing  them  into  intimate 
relation  with  existing  conditions. 

(6)  Another  reason  for  the  slowness  with  which 
changes  in  subject-matter  are  made,  or  for  the  lack 


SUBJECT-MATTER  11 

of  change,  is  the  idea  which  prevails  with  many  people 
that  the  subject-matter  in  itself  is  not  of  great  mo- 
ment. Its  value  lies  in  the  effect  produced  upon  the 
mind  of  the  learners  in  the  process  of  mastering  it. 
They  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  discipline;  consequently, 
subject-matter  which  at  one  time  had  a  vital  relation 
with  the  world's  affairs  is  retained  because  of  the  value 
it  possesses  as  a  means  of  mental  training.  Many 
people  urge  the  retention  of  obsolete  processes  in 
arithmetic  because  they  afford  excellent  training  in 
reasoning.  The  study  of  higher  mathematics  and  of 
the  classical  languages  has  been  strongly  advocated 
for  similar  reasons.  These  subjects  are  represented 
as  being  peculiarly  valuable  for  the  mental  training 
which  they  provide.  In  the  elementary  school,  the 
finer  intricacies  of  grammar  have  been  insisted  upon 
for  the  same  reason.  History  and  geography  have 
been  presented  by  many  teachers,  not  so  much  that 
they  might  throw  light  upon  the  life  of  man,  but  in 
order  that  the  imagination  and  the  reasoning  processes 
might  be  trained  through  them. 

There  is  no  need  of  presenting  obsolete  material  or 
processes,  or  situations  and  problems  quite  contrary 
to  fact,  or  such  as  rarely  occur,  in  order  to  cultivate 
the  powers  of  reasoning,  imagination,  attention,  per- 
severance, and  other  qualities  of  the  mind.  All  these 
can  be  more  effectively  cultivated,  and  the  learner  at 
the  same  time  can  be  brought  into  close  touch  with 
the  life  of  to-day,  by  using  material  which  is  related 


12  TYPES  OP  TEACHING 

to  the  environment  of  the  school,  to  the  lives  and 
interests  of  the  pupils  and  their  families,  and  to  the 
social  interests  and  problems  of  the  present  time. 

It  is  well  to  remember,  moreover,  that  a  quality  of 
the  mind  should  be  given  exercise  in  as  many  different 
directions  as  possible  and  upon  many  occasions,  if  we 
wish  it  to  become  general  in  its  activity.  Reasoning, 
memory,  politeness,  truthfulness,  and  other  desirable 
traits  should  be  cultivated  under  many  kinds  of  cir- 
cumstances, and  exercised  frequently,  in  order  to  ex- 
tend their  range,  and  to  increase  the  certainty  of  their 
use  when  needed.1 

(c)  Another  reason  for  the  static  courses  of  study 
in  the  elementary  and  high  schools  is  that  they  are 
dominated  to  some  extent  by  the  idea  that  the  ele 
mentary  school  must  prepare  for  courses  to  be  given 
in  the  high  school,  and  that  the  high  school  must  pre- 
pare for  college.  In  consequence,  much  of  the  subject- 
matter  is  taught,  not  because  it  has  intrinsic  or  direct 
value,  but  because  it  is  preparatory  in  function.  The 
Germans  sometimes  describe  the  study  of  Latin  in 
their  Gymnasia  by  pupils  during  the  period  between 
nine  and  fourteen  years  of  age  as  resembling  a  trip 
through  a  tunnel.  It  leads  somewhere,  but  the  learner 
cannot  see  where.  This  description  is  true  of  other 
subjects  than  beginning  Latin.  They  seem  to  the 
pupils  to  contain  little  value  in  themselves,  the  argu- 

1  William  James,  Talks  to  Teachers,  chap,  xn;  E.  L.  Thorndik«i 
Principles  of  Teaching,  chap.  xv.  , 


SUBJECT-MATTER  13 

ment  urged  being  that  they  are  necessary  to  the  mas- 
tery of  subjects  to  be  presented  later.  Their  value  is 
thus  preparatory  rather  than  intrinsic. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  much  discontent  and 
agitation  over  the  situation  which  requires  so  many 
pupils  to  spend  time  upon  studies  whose  chief  claim 
is  that  they  prepare  for  higher  schools,  when  so  few 
of  these  pupils  attend  these  higher  schools.  The 
effect  of  this  movement  will  probably  cause  a  radical 
change  in  the  curricula  of  the  lower  schools.  The 
preparatory  subjects  which  are  retained  will  no  doubt 
be  made  to  yield  whatever  value  they  possess  that  is 
intrinsic  in  nature. 

The  pleasure  element  in  subject-matter 

Several  forms  of  subject-matter,  possessing  one  or 
more  of  the  functions  already  described,  may,  upon 
occasion,  take  onjstill  another  purpose.  They  may 
be  regarded  as  accomplishments,  and  may  be  imparted 
to  pupils  not  because  they  are  in  themselves  useful, 
or  disciplinary,  or  preparatory  to  other  courses,  but 
because  they  are  ornamental  in  nature.  Deportment, 
music,  dancing,  art,  modern  languages,  and  similar 
subjects,  presented  in  so-called  finishing  schools,  pos- 
sess this  function.  It  is  proper  for  people  of  certain 
rank  or  station  in  life  to  possess  some  knowledge  of 
them.  They  adorn  life;  they  add  to  social  enjoyment; 
hence  they  are  taught.  They  are  not  to  be  esteemed 
lightly  "because  of  the  function  they  serve,  since 


14  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

pleasure  is  an  end  of  education.  On  the  contrary,  it 
might  be  advisable  to  make  more  provision  in  our 
schools  for  those  subjects  which  further  the  higher 
enjoyments  of  society,  because  it  is  natural  for  people 
to  seek  pleasure  of  some  kind,  and  tastes  in  this  direc- 
tion can  be  influenced  and  largely  determined  by 
training.  The  schools  have  here  a  duty  which  they 
possibly  have  not  realized,  and  which  they  certainly 
have  not  fully  performed. 

Summary.  (1)  Subject-matter  represents  ways  of  think- 
ing, feeling,  or  doing  evolved  by  the  race  in  the  course  of  its 
development.  (2)  Subject-matter  is  modifiable.  It  may  be- 
come obsolete  because  the  necessity  for  its  use  has  ceased  to 
exist,  or  because  a  more  adequate  way  of  thinking,  feeling, 
or  acting  has  been  evolved.  Part  of  a  certain  form  of 
subject-matter  may  be  changed  to  suit  changing  conditions. 
New  forms  or  units  of  subject-matter  may  come  into  exist- 
ence. (3)  Subject-matter  is  more  likely  to  experience  these 
changes  in  actual  social  experience  than  in  the  schools  be- 
cause the  life  of  the  schools  is  to  a  certain  extent  set  apart 
from  the  conditions  which  modify  or  produce  subject-matter. 
(4)  Subject-matter  serves  various  purposes  or  functions.  Its 
function  may  be  (a)  intrinsic;  (6)  disciplinary;  (c)  prepara- 
tory; (d)  decorative. 

REFERENCES:  John  Dewey,  School  and  Society.  The  Child  and 
the  Curriculum;  W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  chapters 
H-vi;  Bobbitt,  What  the  Schools  Teach  and  Might  Teach;  King,  So- 
cial Aspects  of  Education,  chap.  i. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Give  examples  of  subject-matter  in  five  different  subjects  of  the 
school  curriculum  which  existed  before  it  was  put  into  a  text- 
book. 


SUBJECT-MATTER  15 

2.  Make  a  list  of  ten  situations  or  needs  which  compelled  the  mak- 
ing of  subject-matter. 

8.  Name  several  ways  by  which  subject-matter  is  passed  on  from 
one  generation  to  another. 

4.  What  are  some  of  the  needs  of  the  present  time  for  which  sub- 
ject-matter has  not  yet  been  provided? 

5.  What  objection  have  you  to  offer  to  the  definition  of  subject- 
matter  as  a  way  of  doing  something  or  thinking  about  some- 
thing? 

6.  Give  at  least  one  good  argument  for,  and  one  against,  the  use  of 
books  as  a  means  of  imparting  subject-matter. 

7.  What  changing  social  conditions  can  you  mention  for  which  the 
schools  do  not  as  yet  provide? 

8.  What  can  the  schools  do  in  practical  ways  to  teach  the  intrinsic 
function  of  subject-matter? 

9.  Mention  three  subjects  which  are  taught  because  they  prepare 
the  way  for  later  subjects.   Have  these  subjects  any  intrinsic 
value? 

10.  What  subject-matter  did  you  ever  study  or  teach  because  it  was 
supposed  to  result  in  mental  discipline?  Should  you  say  that  it 
accomplished  this  result?   If  you  think  it  did,  do  you  regard 
it  as  more  effective  for  the  purpose  than  subject-matter  which 
has  a  place  in  actual  practice  outside  of  school? 

11.  Do  you  object  to  teaching  subjects  because  they  give  pleasure 
or  are  classed  as  accomplishments?   Mention  several  subjects 
of  this  nature.  What  argument  can  be  urged  in  favor  of  provid- 
ing for  them  in  the  course  of  study? 

12.  Select  five  subjects  commonly  taught  in  the  schools  and  show 
what  the  intrinsic  function  of  each  is. 

18.  Show  that  the  schools  either  do  or  do  not  so  teach  the  subjects 
named  in  12  as  to  emphasize  their  intrinsic  function. 

14.  What  ideas  gained  in  the  study  of  grammar  have  aided  you  in 
speaking  and  writing  correctly? 

15.  What  ideas  gained  in  the  study  of  grammar  have  not  been  of 
practical  use  to  you? 

16.  If  the  course  of  study  in  arithmetic  were  based  upon  the  actual 
needs  of  people  in  ordinary  life,  what  are  some  of  the  elimina- 
tions and  additions  which  would  have  to  be  made? 


n 

WHERE  EDUCATION  MUST  BEGIN 

Ideas  more  or  less  complete  and  more  or  less  organ- 
ized 

WHEN  children  enter  school,  they  are  not  only 
young  in  years,  but  they  are  also  young  in  thought,  in 
activity,  in  life  in  general.  It  is  true  that  they  have 
acquired  a  large  store  of  ideas,  but  many  of  these  are 
incorrect  or  incomplete.  Very  little  organization,  com- 
paratively speaking,  has  as  yet  taken  place  among  the 
different  mental  states,  and  even  that  little  is  often 
found  to  be  faulty.  Of  actual  experience,  accumu- 
lated by  themselves,  there  is  only  a  small  store.  They 
have  had  glimpses  of  only  a  few  pages  of  the  world's 
great  volume,  and  have  not  fully  comprehended  those 
few. 

We  never  arrive  at  a  stage  where  our  ideas  are  com- 
plete and  free  from  error  and  where  we  have  established 
all  the  necessary,  to  say  nothing  of  all  the  possible, 
relations  among  them.  We  always  lack  some  knowl- 
edge; we  always  know  some  things  incorrectly;  we 
constantly  fail  to  see  the  traditional  four  that  comes 
from  putting  two  and  two  together;  that  is,  we  do  not 
always  see  the  significance  of  things  because  we  fail 
to  relate  them  to  ideas  which  would  explain  them. 


WHERE  EDUCATION  MUST  BEGIN         17 

The  younger  we  are  and  the  less  trained  we  are,  the 
greater  the  extent  to  which  these  statements  are  true. 
In  very  young  school  children,  we  should  expect  to 
find  them  especially  applicable. 

Attitudes  and  feelings 

After  very  early  infancy,  we  have,  at  any  stage  of 
life,  a  varied  assortment  of  feelings  about  people  and 
things.  Certain  experiences  please  us  and  we  seek  to 
repeat  them.  Others  annoy  us  or  cause  actual  dis- 
comfort, consequently  we  try  to  avoid  them.  We  like 
some  people  and  dislike  others.  We  like  certain  colors, 
fabrics,  kinds  of  music,  more  than  others.  We  prefer 
reading  to  outdoor  games,  or  the  reverse.  We  are  sel- 
fish or  generous,  kind  or  cruel.  We  are  either  broad- 
minded  or  harsh  in  our  judgments  of  others.  Some- 
times we  older  people  overlook  the  fact  that  children, 
even  at  an  early  age,  have  these  traits  developed  to  a 
considerable  degree,  and  that  they  are  factors  to  be 
taken  into  consideration  in  teaching  and  training 
pupils  of  any  age. 

Probably  many  of  our  mental  states  are  accompa- 
nied by  so  little  feeling  of  any  kind  as  to  be  almost 
colorless.  But  many  of  them  are  so  strongly  tinctured 
with  feeling  that  subsequent  thought  and  actions  are 
decidedly  influenced.  Sometimes  a  certain  kind  of 
feeling  becomes  so  firmly  associated  with  an  idea  as 
to  be  recalled  to  the  mind  whenever  the  latter  reap- 
pears. In  such  a  case  we  have  an  attitude  of  mind,  a 


18  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

prejudice,  a  sentiment,  fixed  likes  or  dislikes,  and  con- 
duct is  governed  accordingly. 

Surely  these  habitual  states  of  feeling,  whether  mild 
or  extreme,  which  have  become  associated  with  ideas, 
should  receive  attention  from  the  teacher.  It  has  been 
the  disregard  of  them  which  has  led,  at  times,  to  diffi- 
culty in  dealing  with  undeveloped  or  backward  races, 
or  with  nations  having  ideas  and  sentiments  peculiar 
to  themselves.  The  emotions,  the  prejudices,  the  men- 
tal attitudes  of  these  people  have  often  been  over- 
looked hi  the  attempt  to  govern  and  educate  them,  and 
serious  difficulties  have  resulted.  Thus  the  Sepoys 
of  India,  who  eat  no  animal  food,  resented  using 
tallow-coated  cartridges;  and  the  Chinese,  who  wor- 
ship their  ancestors,  felt  outraged  when  foreigners 
constructed  railroads  through  their  cemeteries.  Doubt- 
less we  work  at  cross-purposes  in  dealing  with  young 
people,  and  waste  both  time  and  energy,  because  we 
disregard  the  likes  and  dislikes,  the  enthusiasms  and 
prejudices  which  they  have  accumulated. 

Native  endowment  of  instincts  and  capacities 

In  addition  to  the  store  of  knowledge  and  the  some- 
what settled  feelings  which  young  people  possess,  we 
have  to  take  into  consideration  the  social  experience 
which  persists  in  them  in  the  form  of  instincts  and 
capacities.  By  an  instinct  we  mean  an  inherited  or  un- 
learned tendency  to  behavior  or  action.  It  is  instinctive 
for  us  to  be  active,  both  physically  and  mentally;  tc 


WHERE  EDUCATION  MUST  BEGIN          19 

imitate  other  people;  to  feel  jealous,  to  become  angry; 
to  feel  curiosity;  to  wish  to  do  as  well,  if  not  better, 
than  others  have  done. 

According  to  the  purposes  which  they  serve,  in- 
stincts have  been  classified  as  (a)  individual,  such  as 
fear  and  fighting;  (6)  social,  such  as  emulation,  rivalry, 
gregariousness,  shame,  sympathy,  mothering;  (c) 
adaptive,  such  as  imitation,  play,  curiosity,  atten- 
tion, interest.  Other  instincts  are  the  collecting  in- 
stinct, the  instinct  to  manipulate,  whether  to  construct 
or  to  destroy;  the  instinct  to  express  one's  ideas  in 
some  way;  and  the  cesthetic  instincts,  which  show 
themselves  in  personal  adornment,  in  a  liking  for  col- 
ors, for  harmonious  sounds  and  rhythm,  and  in  the 
tendency  to  apply  decoration  to  objects.  Both  mental 
and  physical  activity  are  instinctive. 

Not  all  of  the  instincts  are  present  at  birth.  Many  of 
them  develop  in  childhood,  while  others  appear  during 
adolescence  or  even  in  a  later  period  of  life.  Some  of  these 
delayed  tendencies  are  the  instincts  to  emulate  others, 
to  master  people  or  things,  to  make  collections  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  to  show  off,  to  exercise  intellectual  curiosity. 

Since  it  is  upon  the  instinctive  tendencies  to  action 
that  education  must  build,  it  is  important  that  teachers 
know  at  least  those  instincts  which  are  most  helpful  in 
education  at  the  stage  of  development  at  which  their 
pupils  stand;  otherwise  they  njay  attempt  to  employ 

x  . 

instincts  not  yet  active,  or  which  have  served  their 
purpose  and  have  ebbed  away. 


20  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Acquired  modes    of  acting;  habits  fixed  or  in  the 
process  of  formation 

In  addition  to  the  native  or  unlearned  tendencies 
to  action,  the  pupils  who  present  themselves  in  our 
classes  for  instruction  possess  a  large  store  of  acquired 
ways  of  acting  or  of  responding  to  situations  which 
confront  them  from  day  to  day.  These  acquired  modes 
of  behavior  are  called  habits.  Rowe  has  defined  a  habit 
as  being  an  acquired  aptitude  for  some  particular  mode 
of  automatic  action.  Under  the  term  he  includes 
habits  of  decision,  of  feeling,  or  of  thought.  In  a  later 
chapter  we  shall  consider  the  teaching  exercises  which 
bear  directly  upon  the  influencing  of  habits.  At  this 
point  we  simply  recognize  that  habits  of  acting,  ways 
of  thinking  about  things,  and  feelings  which  have  be- 
come fixed  or  customary  are  a  large  part  of  the  equip- 
ment of  the  learners  in  any  class.  They  either  help  or 
hinder  the  teacher  in  carrying  out  the  general  aims  of 
education  and  are  of  much  more  importance  than  is 
generally  recognized. 

The  teacher  who  undertakes  to  conduct  a  lesson  in 
expressive  reading,  in  penmanship,  in  cooking,  sewing, 
manual  training,  or  in  almost  any  subject,  must  take 
thought  in  regard  to  the  habits  of  speech  or  action  or 
skill  of  his  pupils  in  order  to  accomplish  the  best  re- 
sults in  the  lesson  exercise.  He  may  either  have  to 
overcome  bad  habits  previously  formed  or  to  carry 
new  habits  forward  toward  the  stage  of  automatism. 


WHERE  EDUCATION  MUST  BEGIN         21 

Summary.  The  equipment  of  any  class  which  forms  the 
basis  upon  which  education  must  build  consists  of  (1)  a 
body  of  ideas  only  partially  complete  and  knit  together  into 
an  organization;  (2)  an  accompaniment  of  feelings,  attitudes, 
likes,  and  prejudices  which  color  knowledge  and  influence 
action;  (8)  a  native  endowment  of  tendencies  known  as 
instincts;  and  (4)  of  a  large  body  of  acquired  modes  of  act- 
ing, whether  these  actions  be  mental  or  physical,  which  we 
call  habits.  These  habits  have  had  their  origin  in  the  instinc- 
tive tendencies  or  instincts. 

REFERENCES:  E.  A.  Kirkpatrick,  Fundamental*  of  Child  Study, 
chap,  iv;  Stuart  H.  Howe,  Habit  Formation  and  the  Science  of  Teach- 
ing, chap,  iv;  E.  L.  Thorndike,  Elements  of  Psychology,  chap,  xii; 
Strayer  and  Norsworthy,  How  to  Teach,  chap,  n;  G.  Stanley  Hall, 
Content*  of  Children'*  Mind*  upon  Entering  School. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Make  a  list  of  ten  incorrect  ideas  which  school  children  have 
been  found  to  possess.  Of  ten  incomplete  ideas.  Of  five  incorrect 
classifications  or  associations. 

2.  Give  examples  of  mistakes  you  have  discovered  in  your  own 
ideas  within  the  past  year.  Was  the  mistake  due  to  an  incorrect 
idea,  an  incomplete  idea,  or  to  a  wrong  classification? 

3.  Show  how  lessons  in  nature  study  and  art  may  have  to  take  into 
consideration  the  likes  or  the  dislikes  of  pupils. 

4.  What  are  some  of  the  attitudes  of  mind  of  pupils  which  should 
be  utilized  in  teaching  history  and  geography? 

5.  What  subjects  are  sometimes  hard  to  teach  because  of  the  un- 
favorable frame  of  mind  of  the  learners?  What  can  be  done  to 
help  the  situation? 

6.  What  distinction  do  you  make  between  instincts  and  capacities? 
Give  two  examples  of  each. 

7.  Show  how  teaching  must  consider  the  native  endowment  of 
pupils  in  order  to  be  successful. 

8.  Give  two  illustrations  of  the  use  of  an  individual  instinct,  of  a 
social  instinct,  and  of  an  adaptive  instinct  in  education. 

9.  Explain  what  is  meant  by  delayed  instincts.    What  significance 
for  teaching  exists  in  the  fact  that  some  instincts  are  delayed? 

10.  What  was  wrong  with  the  ideas  of  the  child  who  defined  a  frog 
as  "a  four-legged,  bow-legged  bird  that  walks  before  and  siU 
behind  aad  has  no  tail  almost"? 


m 

WHAT  SCHOOL  EDUCATION  SHOULD  ACCOMPLISH 

Education  should  remake  and  extend  experience 

EDUCATION  at  any  stage  of  its  progress  must  be 
based  upon  the  experience  of  the  person  educated,  — 
that  is,  of  the  learner.  Indeed,  the  aim  of  education, 
as  stated  by  one  of  our  best-known  educators,  is  the 
remaking  of  experience.  What  experience  is  we  have 
considered  in  the  previous  chapter.  Stated  broadly, 
at  any  stage  of  one's  development,  one's  experience 
consists  of  his  store  of  ideas  with  the  meanings  he  has 
attached  to  them  and  the  associations  he  has  formed 
among  them;  of  his  ways  of  feeling  about  things  or 
of  looking  at  them,  —  that  is,  of  his  emotional  states, 
his  interests,  his  prejudices  which  have  become  more 
or  less  fixed;  of  his  instincts;  and  finally,  of  his  habits 
of  conduct,  skill,  and  activity  in  general.  Experience 
is  a  complex  thing,  made  up  of  various  elements,  con- 
stantly changing,  constantly  undergoing  revision,  cor- 
rection, extension,  constantly  influenced  by  its  past, 
and  ever  forming  the  basis  for  the  next  step  in  ad- 
vance. It  is  only  through  extending  it  in  some  direc- 
tion, or  through  correcting  errors  which  have  crept  into 
it,  or  through  making  new  associations  among  its 
•elements,  that  education  takes  place.  This  process  of 


SCHOOL  EDUCATION  23 

extending  or  correcting,  and  of  forming  new  associa- 
tions, constitutes  the  remaking  of  experience  which  is 
education.  One  has  only  to  apply  this  thought  to  any 
school  subject  to  see  its  significance. 

In  beginning  geography  the  few  ideas  which  chil- 
dren have  about  land  and  water,  climate  and  soil,  peo- 
ple and  their  activities,  are  employed  as  the  starting- 
point  in  the  remaking  process.  Errors  are  corrected, 
ideas  are  enlarged,  new  knowledge  is  added  to  old 
from  grade  to  grade,  until  the  children  finally  complete 
the  course  outlined  in  the  subject.  They  may  continue 
in  high  school  in  special  courses  in  commercial  or 
physical  geography,  but  in  these  subjects  advancement 
is  possible  only  by  means  of  remaking  the  geographical 
experience  previously  acquired. 

In  teaching  mathematics  the  knowledge,  however 
slight,  which  children  have  of  number  has  to  be  used 
as  the  beginning  of  education  hi  that  direction.  Their 
mistakes  are  corrected,  new  combinations  are  learned, 
new  applications  are  employed,  and  experience  is  wid- 
ened and  deepened  as  the  pupil  advances  in  his  course. 
Whenever  the  instructor  attempts  to  take  up  ideas 
for  which  the  pupils'  past  has  not  prepared  them, 
there  is  a  break  in  the  process  of  education.  There 
can  be  no  remaking  of  experience,  since  the  basis  is 
lacking.  In  teaching  any  subject  a  basis  in  experience 
is  indispensable.  Education  consists  in  remaking  or 
readjusting  it. 


24  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Education  should  «"'"i  toward  social  content  or  value 
of  experience 

It  may  well  be  asked  here  what  the  guiding  principle 
is  which  controls  the  remaking  of  experience,  —  that  is, 
along  what  lines,  or  in  what  direction,  shall  experience 
be  re-formed  or  remade?  For  those  of  us  who  teach 
children,  the  answer  is  that  experience  has  to  be  remade 
in  the  direction  of  more  socialized  content.  This  reply 
may  seem  so  ambiguous  as  to  have  but  little  value. 
The  objection  may  also  be  made  that  frequently  edu- 
cation has  for  its  ami  the  imparting  of  knowledge  which 
has  little  or  no  social  content.  Illustration  may  per- 
haps throw  light  upon  both  points.  It  is  quite  possible 
to  teach  pupils  about  the  Columbia  River  without 
socializing  the  knowledge  thus  imparted.  There  is  no 
special  social  value  in  knowing  that  the  Columbia 
River  rises  in  southwestern  Canada,  follows  a  crooked 
course  to  the  southwest,  and  flows  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  But  when  we  learn  what  an  obstacle  this 
river  was  to  early  explorers;  that  it  is  not  navigable 
for  the  greater  part  of  its  course;  that,  because  of 
the  salmon  which  swarm  its  waters,  it  is  an  important 
source  of  food  supply,  we  are  adding  social  content 
to  our  knowledge.  While  both  sets  of  facts  about  the 
river  may  be  called  knowledge,  the  latter  is  the  more 
valuable  for  pupils  because  it  is  made  up  of  ideas  which 
have  social  relation  and  significance.  Doubtless  with 
many  of  us  there  comes  a  time  when  we  value  knowl- 
edge of  facts  in  their  scientific  relation  without  con- 


SCHOOL  EDUCATION  25 

sidering  their  social  aspects.  Advanced  students  in 
mathematics  and  the  pure  sciences  disregard  the  so- 
cial possibilities  of  their  subjects,  being  moved  by  a 
highly  intellectual  curiosity  in  their  researches.  Pupils 
in  the  elementary  schools,  however,  are  not  often 
stirred  by  this  kind  of  curiosity,  and,  furthermore,  for 
them  the  social  aspect,  or  the  socialized  content,  is 
of  more  value  than  the  scientific;  hence  to  deluge  them 
with  an  accumulation  of  facts  which  have  little  or  no 
social  meaning  is  to  fail  to  accomplish  the  purpose  for 
which  the  schools  were  established. 

Education  should  increase  the  control  of  the  learner 
over  the  values  which  make  up  experience 

Experience  cannot  be  remade  nor  can  content  be 
socialized  through  the  teacher's  efforts  alone.  The 
pupils  themselves  must  participate  largely  in  the  proc- 
ess. Unless  the  activities  of  the  latter  be  enlisted, 
whether  these  activities  be  physical  or  mental,  educa- 
tion remains  at  a  low  stage.  The  manual  training 
teacher  who  contents  himself  with  telling  his  pupils 
how  to  do  things  is  considered  a  failure.  In  this  sub- 
ject education  is  at  once  seen  to  consist  hi  the  gaining 
of  individual  control  over  the  tools  and  then-  manipu- 
lation. In  other  forms  of  education  involving  physical 
activity,  the  same  thought  or  idea  is  present,  —  that 
is,  that  advance  in  control  by  the  individual  consti- 
tutes education.  But  there  are  other  things  besides 
physical  processes  and  tools  to  control.  There  are 


26  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

ways  of  thinking  or  feeling  about  things,  and  ideals  of 
conduct  and  of  art  which  one  must  also  learn  to  con- 
trol in  order  to  be  educated.  Education  is  not  a  thing 
that  can  be  poured  in  upon  one.  Our  appreciation  is 
not  an  accretion;  it  is  a  matter  of  growth,  of  mastery. 
Ideals  and  attitudes  are  not  external;  they  are  a  re- 
sult of  internal  conquest;  they  are  things  mastered 
or  attained  through  effort.  By  means  of  education  we 
establish  control  over  values,  or  things  which  we  con- 
sider worth  while,  and  this  control  must  be  established 
or  attained  by  each  individual  for  himself.  For  this 
reason  the  teacher  insists  upon  each  child  working 
his  own  arithmetic  lesson.  She  plainly  sees  that  it  is 
the  control  of  the  individual  over  the  process  involved 
which  is  valuable.  She  insists  upon  his  performing  his 
own  drawing  exercise,  because  there  is  no  educative 
value  to  the  individual  in  having  some  one  else  per- 
form his  task.  The  same  is  true  of  the  other  school 
exercises.  It  is  the  gaining  of  mastery  by  the  pupil  over 
knowledge  or  process  or  some  other  form  of  worth 
which  constitutes  education;  hence  experience  must 
be  remade  through  increased  individual  control  if 
the  teacher's  work  is  to  be  complete. 

Summary.  (1)  Starting  from  the  equipment  of  experi. 
ence  in  the  form  of  knowledge,  habits,  attitudes,  and  feel- 
ings which  the  learner  possesses,  education  seeks  to  correct, 
to  extend,  to  amplify  that  experience.  (2)  While  some 
phases  of  education  have  scientific  knowledge  in  view, — 
that  is,  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  —  the  education  for 
pupils  in  at  least  the  elementary  and  high  schools  should  aim 


SCHOOL  EDUCATION  27 

for  social  significance  in  connection  with  experience.  (3) 
True  education  has  as  one  of  its  ends  the  increase  of  the 
learner's  control  over  experience  in  its  various  aspects.  It 
furthers  his  activity  rather  than  compels  a  passive  or  merely 
receptive  attitude. 

REFERENCES:  W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  chap,  i;  John 
Dewey,  Schools  of  Tomorrow,  chaps,  i,  11.  iv;  G.  D.  Strayer,  Brief 
Course  in  the  Teaching  Process,  chap.  L 

EXERCISES 

1.  How  is  experience  altered  in  teaching  pupils  the  explanation  of 
the  process  of  condensation?  In  teaching  why  smoke  goes  up 
the  chimney? 

2.  Show  how  at  least  two  aspects  of  experience  should  be  affected 
in  teaching  a  class  about  the  people  of  India. 

3.  What  could  you  teach  about  coal  that  does  not  have  social  value? 
t  What  socialized  content  could  you  give  to  the  subject?  For  a 

class  of  the  sixth  school  year,  which  kind  of  content  has  greater 
worth?  Justify  your  answer. 

4.  How  can  algebra,  history,  or  Latin  be  given  socialized  content 
in  the  high  school? 

5.  Make  a  list  of  five  items  which  you  would  regard  as  socialized 
content  in  the  study  of  Siberia. 

6.  What  are  the  dangers  of  too  much  telling  and  helping  in  teach- 
ing? Where  should  the  line  be  drawn  between  enough  and  too 
much? 

7.  What  form  of  experiences  is  particularly  affected  in  teaching 
manual  training?  < 

8.  What  form  of  it  is  affected  when  people  are  led  to  enjoy  art, 
music,  and  good  literature? 

9.  What  form  is  affected  when  pupils  are  led  to  substitute  respect, 
obedience,  and  cooperation  for  disrespect,  defiance,  and  sel- 
fishness? 

10.  Young  people  generally  possess  instinctive  tendencies  which  are 
selfish  in  character.  How  should  the  remaking  process  affect 
such  tendencies? 


IV 

MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION 

Types  of  class  procedure 

THERE  are  several  ways  at  the  teacher's  disposal  by 
which  he  may  lead  his  pupils  to  the  results  desired 
through  education.  Since  education  includes  the  ac- 
complishing of  many  and  varied  ends,  it  is  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  stimuli  or  agencies  used  by  the  teacher 
will  vary,  that  form  of  exercise  being  employed  at  a 
given  time  which  is  best  adapted  to  secure  the  object 
desired  at  that  particular  time.  A  general  view  of  these 
agencies  or  forms  of  teaching  exercises  should  precede 
the  treatment  of  them  individually. 

a.  The  telling  exercise  or  the  lecture  method.  As  long 
as  knowledge  was  the  main  object  striven  for,  the  use 
of  books  and  of  the  telling,  or  lecture,  method  pre- 
dominated, and  at  times  was  employed  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  other  means.  We  still  value  these  modes  of  im- 
parting knowledge  because  communication  in  some 
form  is  indispensable  in  passing  on  to  the  rising  gen- 
eration the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the  society  in  which 
it  finds  itself;  but  since  no  one  is  really  learned  who 
can  merely  recite  verbatim  what  he  has  heard  or  read, 
the  use  of  books  and  of  the  lecture  method  has  been 
modified.  It  will  probably  never  be  discarded  or  en- 


MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION        29 

tirely  superseded  by  other  modes  of  teaching,  because 
from  books  and  teachers  pupils  sometimes  learn  what 
they  can  acquire  by  no  other  means.  Even  if  it  were 
possible  to  obtain  the  ideas  by  other  means,  it  is  at 
times  more  economical  and  more  satisfactory  to  gain 
them  from  reading,  or  by  the  so-called  lecture  method. 
The  objection  to  this  method  is  that  it  is  frequently 
employed  when  it  is  not  the  best  means  of  instruction. 
People  attempt  to  tell  what  can  be  learned  better  by 
other  methods,  such  as  observation  or  reflection. 

b.  The  object  lesson.  As  the  school  comes  into  closer 
contact  with  the  world  in  which  it  is  placed,  with  the 
life  of  which  it  should  ever  be  a  part,  the  study  of 
objects  and  activities  at  first  hand  through  observa- 
tion  and  participation,   or  through   experiment,   is 
necessary;  consequently  there  must  be  provision  for 
object  lessons,  for  excursions,  for  demonstrations,  for 
observation  in  general. 

c.  The  study  of  ideas  in  relation;  inductive  and  de- 
ductive lessons.  We  must  make  provision  in  our  teach- 
ing procedure  not  only  for  the  study  of  facts  and  for 
the  consideration  of  individual  ideas,  but  we  must 
provide  also  for  the  study  of  things  in  relation.   This 
relation  may  be  that  of  structure  and  function,  as  in 
plants  and  animals;  of  cause  and  effect,  as  in  the  sci- 
ences or  history;  of  similarity  of  parts,  structure,  or 
function,  as  in  the  case  of  minerals,  animals,  words, 
geometric  forms,  geographic  phenomena,  or  the  like; 
or  of  the  individual  to  the  class  or  family  to  which  it 


30  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

belongs,  as  when  we  determine  the  part  of  speech  under 
which  a  word  should  be  classified,  the  family  which 
includes  a  given  animal,  or  the  rule  which  determines 
the  spelling  of  a  word  or  the  solution  of  a  problem. 

When  a  lesson  seeks  to  find  a  common  element  or 
process  in  several  ideas  which  groups  them  together 
or  explains  them,  it  is  called  an  inductive  lesson.  When, 
however,  the  lesson  seeks  to  apply  the  explanation 
or  principle  already  known  to  processes  or  ideas  so 
a-?  to  make  them  clear,  it  is  called  a  deductive  exer- 
cise. 

d.  The  exercise  to  arouse  appreciation.  We  have  been 
slow  in  reaching  the  stage  where  we  realize  that  the 
emotions,  the  sentiments,  and  appreciations  of  chil- 
dren are  worth  taking  note  of  for  any  other  purpose 
than  mere  suppression  of  that  which  is  evil.  Our  efforts 
even  now  are  sporadic  when  we  attempt  to  deal  with 
these  aspects  of  child  life.  The  comic  valentine,  the 
ugly  picture  book,  the  unspeakable  newspaper  comic 
picture,  the  uncompromisingly  plain  schoolhouse,  the 
neglected  school  grounds,  the  dull  matter  of  the  books 
used,  the  failure  to  utilize  pupils'  sentiments  or  feel- 
ings in  our  teaching,  —  these  are  some  of  the  evidences 
of  our  activity  in  debasing  ideals  on  the  one  hand  and 
of  neglecting  them  on  the  other.  We  are  beginning  to 
see  that  there  is  a  duty  here,  not  only  in  surroundings 
and  in  materials  for  instruction,  but  also  in  the  method 
of  teaching.  We  shall,  therefore,  deal  with  that  type  of 
teaching  which  has  to  do  with  the  cultivation  of  feel- 


MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION       81 

ings,  and  of  appreciation  of  that  which  is  fitting,  beau- 
tiful, and  noble.  We  shall  include  here  not  only  that 
which  is  worthy  in  language,  thought,  and  environ- 
ment, but  in  conduct  and  morals  as  well. 

e.  The  formation  of  habits  and  the  increase  of  skill. 
Not  all  of  life  consists  hi  thinking  and  hi  experiencing 
sentiments.  A  large  share  of  it  is  made  up  of  activity, 
of  doing  things. 

Many  of  our  forms  of  activity  must  be  reduced  to 
the  stage  of  the  automatic;  therefore,  the  teacher  who 
would  really  train  must  provide  for  that  phase  of  edu- 
cation which  gives  training  in  applying  knowledge,  in 
forming  habits,  and  in  acquiring  skill.  Such  instruc- 
tion is  usually  called  drill.  Through  drill  we  strive 
not  only  to  fix  facts  and  processes,  but  also  to  increase 
skill  so  as  to  improve  the  product  of  our  activity,  as  in 
a  penmanship  lesson. 

/.  Training  pupils  to  study.  It  is  only  within  the 
last  decade  that  much  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
way  by  which  people  arrive  at  results  in  their  school 
work.  The  results  alone  were  emphasized,  though  prob- 
ably all  teachers  felt  that  there  was  more  or  less  diffi- 
culty experienced  by  the  pupils  in  getting  them,  and 
doubtless  many  felt  their  helplessness  to  aid  learners 
to  better  ways  of  working.  Some  progress  has  been 
made  in  investigating  the  question  of  what  proper  study 
really  is,  and  enough  experimenting  has  been  done  with 
pupils  to  show  that  they  are  capable  of  employing  right 
methods.  We  shall,  therefore,  consider  the  study  lesson 


82  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

as  one  type  of  teaching.  It  is  the  lesson  in  which 
the  teacher  shows  the  pupils  how  they  may  best  help 
themselves. 

g.  The  assignment  lesson.  We  must  not  overlook 
in  this  connection  the  exercise  which  prepares  pupils 
for  individual  study.  It  frequently  consists  of  a  mere 
statement  of  the  number  of  pages  or  paragraphs  or 
problems  to  be  studied.  We  shall  see  that  it  can  be 
made  much  more  helpful  than  this;  that  it  can  not 
only  show  what  ground  is  to  be  covered,  but  that  it 
can  also  indicate  the  sources  from  which  material  can 
be  obtained,  and  that  it  can  put  the  pupils  into  such 
a  frame  of  mind  that  they  will  work  with  interest  and 
energy. 

h.  The  recitation  lesson.  There  comes  a  time  in 
school  procedure  when  the  pupils  must  present  to  the 
class  the  results  of  their  study,  not  only  to  show  their 
mastery  of  their  work,  but  to  give  the  rest  of  the  class 
the  benefit  of  their  results,  to  have  their  ideas  corrected 
if  need  be,  and  to  give  opportunity  for  discussion  and 
amplification  of  the  material  presented.  Such  exer- 
cises are  called  recitations.  There  are  teachers  who 
make  a  recitation  lesson  consist  of  a  verbatim  repro- 
duction of  thought  which  has  been  read  or  heard  by 
the  pupils,  without  discussion,  without  supplementary 
ideas  being  presented,  and  with  little  or  no  explana- 
tion. The  recitation  may  and  should  be  much  more 
than  this.  It  should  be  a  period  when  pupils  may  pre- 
sent their  results  before  the  whole  class  for  considera- 


MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION       33 

tion  by  the  class.  Through  the  recitation  one  of  the 
best  opportunities  is  offered  for  the  remaking  of  expe- 
rience; that  is,  for  correcting  and  extending  the  ideas 
of  pupils  and  for  influencing  their  interests  and  their 
feelings  about  things.  It  is  a  great  waste  of  a  splendid 
opportunity  to  limit  the  recitation  hour  to  the  mere 
repetition  of  words,  and  to  neglect  the  thoughts  and 
the  emotions  which  the  words  represent. 

i.  The  review  lesson.  The  review  lesson  is  that  exercise 
in  which  the  pupil  takes  stock,  so  to  speak,  of  what  he 
has  been  studying,  organizes  it,  so  as  to  bring  out  the 
relationships  clearly,  or  possibly  establishes  new  rela» 
tionships.  It  may  be  that  in  using  knowledge  already 
in  his  possession  as  a  basis  for  a  new  lesson,  the  pupil 
obtains  an  entirely  new  view  of  this  old  knowledge,  — 
he  re-views  it.  He  sees  it  from  a  different  angle  and  its 
value  is  thereby  increased.  The  more  the  pupil  is  able 
to  use  what  he  has  learned  by  making  it  the  basis  for 
new  acquisitions,  the  more  full  of  meaning  his  experi- 
ence becomes.  For  example,  hi  explaining  the  move- 
ment toward  independence  in  the  Balkan  States  by 
reference  to  the  movement  toward  independence  in 
our  own  country  at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
the  pupil  is  compelled  to  review  his  ideas  in  regard  to 
that  period  of  our  history;  and  since  he  is  going  to  em- 
ploy this  knowledge  as  a  basis  for  comparison  and 
explanation,  the  exercise  is  much  more  valuable  than 
if  the  facts  were  repeated  with  no  definite  purpose  in 
view. 


84  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

j.  The  socializing  phases  of  school  work.  Those  forms 
of  school  exercises  which  attempt  to  communize  the 
pupils'  life  and  efforts,  and  to  attach  social  meaning  and 
value  to  the  matter  presented,  will  be  considered  as 
socializing  lessons.  Sometimes  these  lessons  are  inter- 
preted as  meaning  cooperative  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  pupils.  A  wider  meaning  is  attached  to  the  term 
here.  Not  only  may  the  activities  of  the  pupils  be 
made  to  assume  a  social  form,  but  the  content,  the 
subject-matter,  of  the  lessons  may  to  a  high  degree 
be  given  social  significance,  and  made  to  effect  social 
ends. 

These  exercises  not  mutually  exclusive 

It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  these  types  of  teach- 
ing occur  hi  isolation  and  that  they  cannot  be  com- 
bined during  a  class  exercise.  A  teacher  will  probably 
never  go  very  far  in  a  day's  program  without  employ- 
ing several  of  them.  The  hope  encouraged  here  is  that 
making  the  teacher  conscious  of  these  forms  and  the 
purposes  served  by  each  will  cause  him  to  employ 
them  more  intelligently  and  more  effectively,  to  the 
great  advantage  of  the  pupils  in  his  class. 

Types  of  teaching  not  to  be  regarded  as  special 
methods 

The  exercises  here  outlined  are  not  to  be  regarded 
as  special  methods  in  the  sense  that  one  is  employed 
in  teaching  one  subject  and  that  the  rest  are  individu- 


MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION       35 

ally  employed  in  the  teaching  of  other  subjects.  The 
use  of  any  one  of  the  types  is  determined  by  the  end 
to  be  accomplished,  by  the  response  desired,  whether 
it  be  some  form  of  manual  or  physical  activity,  increase 
of  knowledge,  or  a  change  in  one's  moral,  aesthetic,  or 
emotional  life.  Thus,  if  a  habit  is  to  be  formed,  whether 
in  language,  arithmetic,  or  drawing,  drill  will  be  nec- 
essary. If  objects  or  processes  are  to  be  observed, 
whether  it  be  in  nature  study,  physics,  or  sewing,  an 
object  lesson  will  be  employed. 

The  various  types  of  teaching  are  applicable  to  sev- 
eral subjects  of  instruction,  not  only  because  similar 
results  are  sought  in  all,  but  also  because  the  same 
psychological  processes  must  be  employed  in  the  teach- 
ing of  all  of  them.  We  analyze  situations  or  ideas;  we 
associate  mental  states  or  activities;  we  apperceive; 
we  employ  analogy  as  a  basis  for  thinking  or  acting; 
we  experience  various  feelings  and  are  influenced  by 
them;  we  form  judgments  whether  we  study  geog- 
raphy, history,  literature,  or  art.  Those  types  of  teach- 
ing which  have  to  do  with  the  gaining  of  knowledge 
through  observation  or  experiment  may  be  employed 
in  connection  with  any  subject,  whether  botany,  geog- 
raphy, or  chemistry,  in  which  knowledge  may  be  sub- 
jected to  such  processes.  The  types  of  teaching  which 
have  to  do  with  fixing  knowledge  so  that  it  will  be 
retained,  or  with  the  forming  of  habits  either  mental 
or  physical,  may  be  employed  in  any  subject  or  in  any 
form  of  activity  in  which  knowledge  is  to  be  made 


36  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

permanent  or  habits  fixed.  In  a  given  lesson  several 
kinds  of  teaching  may  be  involved,  because  the  pro- 
cedure may  vary  with  the  several  aspects  of  the 
recitation.  One  may  first  endeavor  to  impart  knowl- 
edge, then  to  arouse  appreciation  based  upon  the 
knowledge  imparted,  and  then  he  may  try  to  put  the 
knowledge  into  permanent  form  for  reproduction.  To 
accomplish  these  various  ends,  different  types  of  teach- 
ing are  employed.  The  types  are  not,  therefore,  mu- 
tually exclusive,  since  several  may  occur  in  the  same 
lesson  period. 

Summary.  The  various  forms  of  teaching  procedure 
may  be  classified  as  (1)  the  telling  or  lecture  lesson;  (2)  the 
object  lesson;  (3)  the  inductive  and  deductive  lessons;  (4) 
the  exercises  to  arouse  appreciation;  (5)  the  habit-forming 
lesson;  (6)  the  study  lesson;  (7)  the  assignment  lesson;  (8) 
the  recitation  lesson;  (9)  the  review  exercise;  (10)  the  social- 
izing exercise. 

These  exercises  are  not  mutually  exclusive,  but  may  repre- 
sent various  phases  of  one  period  of  work  with  a  class.  They 
are  not  to  be  regarded  as  special  methods,  since  they  apply 
to  any  school  subject  in  which  they  assist  pupils  to  reach  the 
desired  ends  of  education. 

REFERENCES:  E.  L.  Thorndike,  Education,  chaps,  ix  and  x; 
Strayer  and  Norsworthy,  How  to  Teach,  chap.  xm. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Give  an  example  of  the  use  of  the  lecture  or  telling  method  in 
which  you  think  that  procedure  was  justified.   Explain.   Give 
an  example  of  its  use  which  you  consider  a  wrong  application  of 
the  method. 

2.  In  which  of  the  elementary  or  high-school  subjects  can  objects 
or  processes  be  studied  directly?  Explain  briefly  in  each  case. 


MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION        37 

3.  What  advantage  is  there  in  direct  study  of  objects  and  processes 
compared  with  hearing  or  reading  about  them? 

4.  Show  by  an  example  taken  from  nature  study  how  the  relation 
of  cause  and  effect  may  be  studied. 

5.  From  an  illustration  taken  from  grammar,  show  how  logical 
relations  may  be  studied  inductively. 

6.  With  an  example  taken  from  physics  or  mathematics,  show  how 
relationships  are  studied  deductively. 

7.  Show  how  relationships  of  tune  and  place  must  be  considered 
in  the  study  of  history. 

8.  What  forms  of  appreciation  have  you  deflnitely  tried  to  arouse 
and  direct  in  your  class  within  the  last  year? 

9.  Name  at  least  five  directions  hi  which  arousal  or  guidance  are 
highly  desirable. 

10.  Why  not  make  drill  simply  incidental  to  other  teaching? 

11.  Since  the  mind  works  according  to  certain  laws,  why  not  take 
it  for  granted  that  pupils  will  naturally  study  in  the  right  way? 

12.  What  are  the  disadvantages  of  an  indefinite,  incomplete,  or  hur- 
ried lesson  assignment? 

IS.  What  relation  should  exist  between  the  assignment  of  a  lesson 
and  the  recitation  on  the  lesson? 

14.  What  faults  should  you  say  are  common  in  recitation  lessons? 
Suggest  remedies. 

15.  How  would  you  use  review  in  teaching  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
in  Europe  in  1914? 

16.  Show  how  at  least  four  kinds  of  teaching  exercises  can  be  pres- 
ent in  one  lesson  period. 

17.  What  arguments  for  home  study  are  suggested  by  the  drill  exer- 
cise and  by  the  study  of  objects  and  processes? 

18.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  work  of  the  class  period  may  assume 
several  forms,  depending  upon  the  object  to  be   accom- 
plished.   What  bearing  does  this  fact  have  upon  the  teacn- 
er's  preparation  for  the  class  period  ?  ' 


EXERCISES  WHICH  AIM  AT   THE  DISCOVERY  OP 
GENERAL  KNOWLEDGE  :   THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON 

The  purpose  of  the  inductive  lesson 

IT  is  a  natural  process  for  people  even  in  early  child- 
hood to  associate  in  groups,  classes,  or  families  things 
which  are  alike  in  structure,  appearance,  or  use.  A 
child  is  not  very  old  when  he  shows  that  he  recognizes 
certain  objects  as  chairs,  whether  they  be  high  chairs, 
low  chairs,  plain  chairs,  or  rocking-chairs,  and  whether 
they  be  made  of  wicker,  grass,  wood,  or  other  material. 
Certain  likenesses  of  form  and  use  lead  him  to  treat 
them  all  as  chairs  and  to  apply  the  same  name  to  all. 
At  an  early  age  he  groups  things  about  him  into  fairly 
correct  classes  according  to  their  looks,  the  way  they 
act,  or  the  uses  to  which  they  are  put.  It  is  his  way  of 
explaining  and  mastering  the  world.  A  thing  unre- 
lated is  a  thing  unexplained,  and  so  long  as  it  remains 
unexplained  it  is  useless. 

This  process  of  establishing  relationships  may  simply 
lead  one  to  group  together  things  which  are  alike  in 
some  external  way,  as  in  the  case  of  the  chairs  just 
cited.  However,  it  may  go  deeper  into  the  relation- 
ships and  produce  explanations,  principles,  rules, 
ideals,  or  other  general  conclusions.  When  a  general 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  39 

idea  or  principle,  which  applies  to  several  concrete  or 
individual  instances  so  as  to  explain  them  or  give  them 
meaning,  is  obtained  through  the  study  of  concrete  or 
individual  instances,  the  process  of  thought  is  induc- 
tive. And  when  a  teacher  guides  his  pupils  through 
the  study  of  individual  objects  or  examples  to  some 
form  of  general  knowledge,  he  is  employing  the  induc- 
tive development  lesson  or  exercise.  Thus  the  defini- 
tion of  a  noun  may  be  discovered  by  noting  the  nature 
of  several  words  of  this  class,  and  the  rule  for  multi- 
plying a  fraction  by  an  integer  may  be  formulated  by 
pupils  after  repeated  observations  of  the  process  in 
different  examples. 

Much  of  the  material  provided  by  the  course  of 
study  should  be  mastered  by  this  process  of  induction. 
The  individual  ideas  or  facts  have  little  meaning  when 
simply  observed  or  memorized  and  then  passed  by. 
It  is  the  meanings,  the  explanations,  the  relationships 
which  are  of  value,  since  by  their  aid  other  facts  are 
to  be  understood,  and  by  them  one's  activities  are  to 
be  determined.  Then,  too,  it  is  important  that  pupils 
master  the  process  of  inductive  study,  since  through 
it  they  can  carry  on  investigations  independently  of 
any  teacher.  It  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  means  of 
establishing  control  over  ideas. 

Teachers  sometimes  say  that  very  little  of  the  sub- 
ject-matter affords  opportunity  for  inductive  treat- 
ment, but  this  statement  reveals  the  teacher's  igno- 
rance of  the  pupils,  and  also  of  the  necessities  of  the 


40  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

course  of  study.  Even  the  subject  of  spelling,  in  which 
the  work  is  about  as  disconnected  as  possible,  involves 
several  rules  of  pronunciation,  rules  for  forming  plu- 
rals, and  rules  for  spelling,  all  of  which  can  be  learned 
by  observing  a  number  of  words  and  discovering  the 
rule  from  its  use  in  these  words.  Grammar  contains 
many  rules  and  definitions,  and  these  are  in  most  cases, 
if  not  in  all,  best  learned  inductively.  The  same  state- 
ment holds  true  in  regard  to  the  many  rules  involved 
in  the  study  of  arithmetic.  Nature  study,  while  not  in- 
tended to  be  a  scientific  study  of  natural  phenomena, 
calls  frequently  for  the  "why"  and  the  "how"  of 
things,  and  sometimes  involves  comparisons  which 
lead  to  classification;  as  when  the  rat,  mouse,  squirrel, 
and  rabbit  are  discovered  to  have  several  features  iix 
common,  or  the  hollyhock  and  the  common  mallow 
are  discovered  to  be  surprisingly  alike.  A  certain  kind 
of  foot  is  soon  discovered  to  be  characteristic  of  birds 
that  are  swimmers,  while  the  wading  birds  are  easily 
recognized  from  the  structure  of  legs  and  feet. 

In  language  the  manner  of  writing  headings,  the 
idea  of  a  margin,  the  indentation  of  a  paragraph,  the 
use  of  capital  letters,  and  similar  concepts  can  be 
learned  effectively  by  the  inductive  process,  as  can 
also  the  ideas  of  introduction,  of  thought  sequence, 
and  numerous  other  features  which  are  properly  a 
part  of  the  subject  called  English.  The  general  struc- 
ture of  a  drama  can  be  determined  by  the  study  of 
several  classics  representing  this  form  of  literature. 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  41 

What  is  meant  by  narration,  description,  and  the  like 
can  be  made  very  plain  through  direct  study  of  writ 
ings  of  these  types. 

Geography  and  history,  so  frequently  merely  mem- 
orized, can  be  filled  with  meaning  and  worth  if  in- 
ductive  reasoning  be  employed  in  their  study.  The? 
contain  underlying  principles  and  fairly  bristle  with 
questions,  the  solution  of  which  involves  inductive 
reasoning.  Why  was  there  so  much  delay  in  settling 
and  developing  the  land  west  of  the  Mississippi  River? 
Why  did  the  people  of  France  overthrow  the  govern- 
ment and  put  Louis  XVI  to  death?  Why  did  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Northern  States  oppose  the  extension  of 
slavery?  Why  were  not  all  of  the  Americans  in  favor 
of  separation  from  Great  Britain  in  1776?  Why  do  not 
all  places  equally  distant  from  the  Equator  have  the 
same  climate?  What  effect  do  mountains  have  upon 
temperature  and  rainfall?  These  are  a  few  of  the  many 
questions  whose  answers  may  be  obtained  through 
inductive  reasoning  on  the  part  of  the  pupils;  that  is, 
reasoning  which  seeks  to  formulate  rules,  principles, 
definitions,  or  other  general  explanations  and  does  not 
seek  to  apply  general  principles  already  known. 

The  formal  steps  involved  in  inductive  teaching 

Certain  steps  have  been  found  helpful  in  employing 
the  inductive  form  of  reasoning  hi  teaching.  These 
steps  have  been  formulated  and  advocated  by  the 
Herbartian  school  of  educators.  They  are  known  as 


42  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

the  formal  steps  of  instruction,  and  consist  of  (l)  the 
preparation;  (2)  the  presentation;  (3)  the  comparison; 
(4)  the  generalization.  There  is  a  fifth  step,  called  the 
application,  in  which  the  results  of  the  inductive  proc- 
ess are  put  into  operation,  or  are  applied.  As  the  step 
of  application  is  essentially  deductive,  its  considera- 
tion will  be  deferred  to  a  later  chapter. 

a.  The  preparation.  (1)  In  the  step  of  preparation 
the  teacher  prepares  the  class  for  the  study  of  the  new 
material.  This  step  does  not  mean  the  teacher's  prepa- 
ration of  himself  for  the  lesson,  but  rather  his  prepara- 
tion of  the  class.  It  does  not  include  the  teaching  of 
the  new  subject-matter.  It  merely  paves  the  way 
for  its  consideration.  Briefly  stated,  the  preparation 
should  bring  the  class  to  realize  the  need  of  certain 
knowledge;  to  face  a  problem  which  must  be  solved;  to 
ask  "  how  "  or  "  why  " ;  to  seek  an  explanation  or  a  mode 
of  procedure.  Pupils  are  led  to  discover  their  own 
ignorance  or  inability  in  regard  to  some  particular 
knowledge  or  process.  Frequently  they  can  frame  the 
question  which  should  form  the  starting-point  for  the 
lesson  which  is  intended  to  satisfy  the  need  that  has 
been  brought  to  consciousness.  It  may  be  necessary 
for  the  teacher  to  state  it,  but  if  the  problem  or  diffi- 
culty or  lack  is  keenly  felt  by  the  class,  some  pupil  or 
pupils  will  usually  ask  the  question.  The  teacher  will 
grow  in  skill  in  leading  the  class  to  feel  their  need,  and 
to  frame  the  questions  which  lead  to  its  satisfaction. 

Since  the  question,  or  statement  of  the  problem, 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  43 

which  constitutes  the  aim  for  the  new  lesson  is  to  be 
based  upon  the  conscious  need  of  the  pupils,  it  is  clear 
that  the  statement  of  the  aim  will  occur  either  at  the 
end  of  the  step  of  preparation  or  during  its  course;  and 
that  it  will  be  rather  unusual  to  have  it  occur  at  the 
beginning  of  this  step,  where  many  people  have  tried 
to  place  it. 

*  (2)  In  addition  to  bringing  the  class  face  to  face  with 
a  problem,  the  preparation  should  include  the  recall 
of  knowledge  which  is  related  to  the  new  lesson  and 
which  will  aid  in  its  mastery.  This  knowledge  recalled, 
made  clear,  and  organized  ready  for  use,  gives  the 
background  for  the  advanced  work.  It  is  the  apperceiv- 
ing  basis  for  the  understanding  of  the  new  knowledge 
which  is  to  be  gained.  The  pupils  who  were  going  to 
find  out  in  the  new  lesson  why  Louis  XVI  of  France 
was  put  to  death  by  his  people  recalled,  as  a  part  of  the 
step  of  preparation,  what  they  knew  of  the  overthrow 
of  Charles  I,  of  the  reasons  for  the  separation  of  the 
American  colonies  from  the  English  Crown,  and  of  the 
causes  for  the  Cuban  struggle  for  independence. 

The  step  of  preparation  may  occupy  a  longer  or 
shorter  time,  depending  upon  the  number  of  ideas  to 
be  reproduced,  and  the  amount  of  work  which  must  be 
done  to  reproduce  them  and  make  them  clear  so  that 
they  may  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  comprehension  of  the 
new  lesson.  It  may  not  take  more  than  the  statement 
of  the  aim  or  problem  to  bring  the  old  knowledge  to 
oiiud  hi  the  desired  state.  On  the  other  hand,  the 


44  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

preparation  may  occupy  an  entire  lesson  period,  or 
even  several  periods.  One  cannot  say  safely  or  wisely 
that  he  will  devote  a  quarter  or  a  fifth  of  the  whole  les- 
son period  to  this  one  step.  Just  that  amount  of  time 
may  be  required,  but  more  or  less  may  be  needed. 
The  work  should  move  along  promptly,  occupying 
only  as  much  time  as  is  needed  to  bring  out  the  prob- 
lem and  to  review  the  knowledge  necessary  for  the  ad- 
van^ed  work.  Digressions  and  side  issues  should  be 
avoided,  and  attention  should  be  held  closely  to  the 
work  in  hand.  Whether  the  time  be  long  or  short,  the 
step  has  been  accomplished  when  the  pupils  are  clearly 
conscious  of  an  aim,  and  have  in  mind  ready  for  use  the 
ideas  that  are  to  serve  as  the  background  for  the  new 
facts  which  are  to  be  taught. 

b.  The  presentation.  (1)  Teaching  the  new  facts  or 
ideas  to  the  class  constitutes  the  step  of  presentation. 
In  order  to  learn  these  facts  the  pupils  may  study  indi- 
vidual examples  or  objects,  as  in  nature  lessons  or 
spelling;  they  may  perform  experiments,  as  in  physics 
or  chemistry;  they  may  work  out  processes,  as  hi  arith- 
metic or  cooking;  they  may  take  excursions  and  have 
observation  lessons,  as  in  geography,  botany,  or  geol- 
ogy; they  may  study  concrete  ideas  previously  learned 
and  later  reproduced  in  order  to  furnish  material  for  the 
lesson,  as  in  studying  the  ways  by  which  heat  is  pro- 
duced. The  teacher  may  resort  to  telling  in  order  to 
bring  the  facts  before  the  class,  although  this  mode  of 
teaching  should  be  used  sparingly  as  observation  and 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  45 

experimentation  by  the  pupils  produce  much  better 
results.  The  teacher  frequently  resorts  to  telling  be- 
cause it  seems  to  him  a  short  and  certain  way  of  mak- 
ing the  children  acquainted  with  the  new  knowledge. 
However,  the  results  show  that  it  is  often  the  least  cer- 
tain of  all  the  possible  modes  of  presentation,  as  mere 
telling  does  not  insure  understanding. 

(2)  The  step  of  presentation  must  include  enough 
examples,  processes,  or  concrete  cases  to  make  the 
traits  possessed  in  common  very  clear.  Any  one  who 
has  tried  to  teach  long  division  knows  the  futility  of 
expecting  a  class  to  master  the  process  by  working  one 
example.   On  the  other  hand,  the  observation  of  the 
kind  of  teeth  found  in  the  mouth  of  one  cow,  with  the 
consideration  both  of  the  uses  which  they  serve  and  the 
cow's  method  of  grazing,  might  justify  the  conclusion 
that  all  cows  must  have  the  same  kind  of  teeth.  There 
must  be  enough  facts  to  teach  clearly  and  surely  the  lesson 
desired.  This  rule  must  be  the  teacher's  guide. 

(3)  Another  principle  to  guide  the  teacher  is  that 
the  material  must  be  varied  enough  to  make  the  con- 
clusion correct  and  representative.    It  is  a  common 
occurrence  for  teachers  to  try  to  develop  the  idea  of 
pronouns  by  giving  examples  of  personal  pronouns 
only,  and  frequently  limiting  these  to  the  third  person, 
disregarding  the  fact  that  pronouns  may  be  of  the 
masculine,  feminine,  or  neuter  gender,  or  of  the  first, 
second,  or  third  persons,  and  of  either  the  singular  or 
plural  number.   If  one  is  teaching  rivers,  it  would  be 


46  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

better  to  study  one  river  that  flows  into  the  ocean,  one 
that  flows  into  an  arm  of  an  ocean,  one  that  flows  into 
another  river  or  lake,  and  one  that  is  lost  in  a  plain, 
rather  than  to  have  all  of  the  same  kind. 

(4)  Sometimes  teachers  have  difficulty  in  the  step  of 
presentation  because  they  do  not  select  the  material 
in  which  the  traits  upon  which  the  rule,  principle,  or 
definition  must  be  based,  stand  out  prominently;  or 
they  are  so  obscure  and  indefinite  in  their  treatment  of 
the  material  that  they  becloud  rather  than  illuminate 
the  points  which  should  be  made  clear.  The  irrelevant 
and  the  unimportant  should  be  avoided  and  attention 
should  be  centered  upon  the  significant  and  relevant 
facts.  Anything  which  diverts  attention,  or  stands 
between  the  mind  and  the  ideas  it  is  to  master,  is  a 
hindrance.  Showy  experiments,  complicated  appara- 
tus, involved  sentences,  difficult  examples,  lack  of  clear 
and  concise  meaning,  are  common  faults  found  in 
inductive  teaching.  In  presenting  new  facts  about  sen- 
tences, the  examples  should  be  simple  in  thought  and 
should  not  contain  strange  words.  In  teaching  a  new 
process  in  arithmetic,  the  numbers  and  the  thought 
involved  should  be  simple  so  as  not  to  interfere  with 
the  concentration  of  attention  upon  the  process.  Re- 
ducing the  number  of  questions  asked,  and  making  the 
rest  very  clear  and  to  the  point,  help  to  direct  rather 
than  divert  the  minds  of  the  learners.  The  teacher 
should,  therefore,  give  thought  to  his  questions  before 
the  lesson  period,  and  decide  definitely  upon  the  form 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  47 

of  those  which  are  most  essential  in  bringing  out  the 
ideas  to  be  gained. 

At  the  close  of  the  step  of  presentation,  the  pupils 
should  have  gained  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  elements 
hi  the  examples  studied  which  are  necessary  to  the 
formation  of  the  general  idea.  Should  the  inductive 
process  go  no  further  than  the  step  of  presentation,  the 
children  will  have  gained  at  least  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  a  large  and  varied  body  of  individual  ideas 
and  objects. 

c.  The  comparison.  (1)  In  the  step  of  comparison 
the  pupils  are  made  clearly  aware  of  the  elements  or 
processes  of  the  examples  studied  in  the  preceding  step 
which  are  common  to  a  class  or  group.  Thus,  the  pu- 
pils in  history  who  were  studying  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, found  during  the  step  of  presentation  that  the 
French  people  had  objected  to  long-continued  tyranny, 
and  had  set  up  a  new  government  in  which  the  rights 
of  the  people  were  to  have  more  recognition  than  under 
the  old  form.  In  the  step  of  comparison,  they  found 
that  the  English  under  Charles  I  had  done  the  same; 
that  the  Americans  under  George  III,  and  the  Cubans 
under  Spanish  control,  had  worked  for  and  attained 
similar  results.  They  discovered  tyranny  on  the  part 
of  all  the  governments,  various  attempts  to  overcome 
it  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  each  nation;  and,  as  it 
happened  hi  each  of  these  cases,  they  found  that  the 
oppressive  power  was  finally  overthrown  after  pro- 
tracted struggle.  In  learning  long  division  the  pupils, 


48  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

through  comparison,  discover  that  they  divide,  then 
multiply,  then  subtract  in  each  example,  and  then 
write  down  the  new  figure  in  the  partial  dividend,  and 
that  they  then  repeat  the  four  steps  hi  order  until  the 
division  is  completed. 

(2)  This  process  of  discovering  the  essential  com- 
mon elements  is  frequently  aided  by  placing  the  ex- 
amples or  objects  studied  in  a  position  favorable  to 
this  purpose.  Thus,  writing  the  words  receive,  deceive, 
perceive,  conceive  in  a  column  serves  to  show  the  simi- 
larity in  spelling.    The  observation  of  likeness  is  ef- 
fected at  tunes  by  introducing  a  striking  contrast. 
Thus,  the  introduction  of  a  scratching  bird  into  a 
group  of  swimmers  may  serve  to  call  attention  to  the 
similarity  of  foot  structure  in  the  latter  group,  a  fact 
which  the  pupils  may  have  overlooked.   Writing  the 
answers  in  a  definite  position  in  division  of  decimals 
helps  to  master  the  process  of  determining  the  number 
of  decimal  places  in  the  quotient.    Sometimes  con- 
trast is  an  aid,  as  when  the  word  fife  is  inserted  in 
the  list  when  teaching  the  formation  of  the  plurals 
of  nouns  ending  in  /  and  fe,  such  as  wife,  wolf,  loaf, 
leaf,  half. 

(3)  It  sometimes  happens  that  teachers  carry  an 
inductive  lesson  through  the  steps  of  preparation  and 
presentation,  and  then  perform  the  step  of  comparison 
themselves,  thus  depriving  the  pupils  of  needed  exer- 
cise and  weakening  the  effect  of  the  work.   In  conse- 
quence the  pupils  often  do  not  see  the  resemblance  at 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  49 

all,  or  else  receive  so  feeble  an  impression  that  they  do 
not  retain  it,  and  consequently  the  process  fails  of  its 
purpose.  If  material  is  worth  an  explanation,  or  leads 
to  general  ideas  which  are  valuable,  then  the  pupils 
should  discover  the  characteristics  or  processes  upon 
which  the  explanation  or  generalization  is  based.  The 
teacher  should  so  arrange  the  material,  and  so  direct 
his  questions,  that  the  pupils  will  be  aided  in  seeing 
the  important  facts;  but  he  should  not  state  them 
himself  in  the  vain  hope  of  saving  time. 

d.  The  generalization.  (1)  Following  the  step  of  com- 
parison comes  the  step  of  generalization  in  which  are 
summed  up  the  results  of  the  previous  steps.  If  the 
pupils  have  been  trying  to  find  out  why,  hi  multiplica- 
tion of  decimals,  as  many  places  are  pointed  off  in  the 
product  as  the  sum  of  the  decimal  places  in  the  multi- 
plier and  multiplicand,  it  is  in  the  step  of  generaliza- 
tion that  the  explanation  is  definitely  stated.  If  they 
have  been  learning  to  multiply  a  fraction  by  a  fraction, 
it  is  in  this  step  that  they  express  the  rule  for  such  mul- 
tiplication. It  is  in  this  part  of  the  inductive  process 
that  the  pupils  should  formulate  the  statements  for 
the  agreement  of  verbs  with  their  subjects,  the  agree- 
ment of  pronouns  with  their  antecedents,  the  rule  for 
the  formation  of  plurals,  the  effect  produced  when  an 
acid  and  a  base  are  united,  the  nature  of  heat,  the  law 
of  falling  bodies,  the  conditions  necessary  to  plant 
growth,  the  influence  of  altitude  upon  climate,  the 
relation  between  products  and  industries,  and  the 


50  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

maxims  and  moral  truths  which  result  from  the  study 
of  human  actions,  such  as  "Taxation  without  repre- 
sentation is  tyranny,"  "All  government  derives  its 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,"  or  "It 
is  wrong  to  steal." 

(2)  At  times,   even  though  the  comparison  has 
shown  clearly  the  points  which  are  essential  to  a  gen- 
eral conclusion,  the  pupils  stumble  over  the  wording  of 
the  rule  or  principle.  When  the  class  which  was  study- 
ing the  story  of  the  French  Revolution  reached  the 
place  where  some  conclusion  should  be  stated,  one 
pupil  worded  it  thus:  "Any  fellow  that  tries  to  be  a 
boss  is  going  to  get  it."  When  it  is  clear  that  the  pupils 
have  the  idea,  they  should,  if  necessary,  be  helped  to  a 
proper  wording  of  it.  Then  the  rule,  or  law,  or  explana- 
tion, as  given  in  some  textbook,  may  be  compared 
with  the  statement  made  by  the  class,  or  the  suitable 
maxim  or  adage  may  be  committed  to  memory. 

(3)  The  suggestion  has  just  been  made  that  the 
pupils  may  compare  their  own  conclusions  with  the 
conclusions  reached  by  other  people.  Such  a  reference 
serves  as  a  verification  of  the  results  obtained  by  the 
pupils  and  is  valuable  on  that  account.  This  verifying 
of  conclusions  is  the  test  of  the  whole  process  of  induc- 
tive thinking,  as  it  sets  the  seal  of  comparative  cer- 
tainty upon  it.  Experiment  and  observation  are  excel- 
lent forms  of  verification.  When  they  are  not  possible 
or  advisable,  the  conclusions  of  others,  as  found  in 
reference  books,  encyclopaedias,  dictionaries,  maps, 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  51 

charts,  tables,  and  the  like,  may  be  utilized.  It  is 
frequently  the  case  that  the  pupils  verify  their  results 
by  conferring  with  one  another,  or  with  people  hi  the 
home  or  community. 

Advantages  of  this  type  of  lesson 

The  inductive  process  may  seem  long  and  arduous 
to  teachers,  and  it  may  seem  much  more  economical 
for  them  to  give  the  explanation  to  the  class,  or  to 
state  the  rule.  In  reality  the  time  consumed  for  cov- 
ering the  four  formal  steps  involved  in  the  inductive 
process  may  be  short,  requiring  only  a  few  minutes. 
In  actual  practice  is  demonstrated,  also,  the  futility  of 
the  teacher's  telling  and  explaining.  Probably  most 
teachers  tell  their  pupils  to  observe  the  margin  when 
writing,  to  begin  each  sentence  and  every  proper  name 
with  a  capital  letter,  and  to  use  an  interrogation  point 
after  a  sentence  which  expresses  a  question.  Does  this 
telling  suffice,  or  do  pupils  fail  to  grasp  the  ideas  and 
keep  on  year  after  year  violating  all  these  rules? 
Pupils  in  the  grammar  grades  and  in  the  high  schools 
often  show  by  their  practice  that  they  have  not  learned 
these  simple  laws  of  composition  in  such  a  way  as  to 
secure  their  application.  How  long  would  it  take  to 
have  them  observe  margins  in  their  textbooks  and  then 
state  the  rule  for  the  use  of  the  margin;  to  have  them 
discover  for  themselves  by  definite  searching  that 
proper  names  are  begun  with  capital  letters?  After 
such  training,  if  a  pupil  forgets,  he  can  be  taken  back 


52  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

to  the  same  source  to  refresh  his  memory.  The  telling 
method  has  not  sufficed  even  in  cases  so  simple  as 
those  just  cited,  and  consequently  time  has  been  lost 
year  after  year. 

The  knowledge  resulting  from  induction  is  literally 
the  pupils'  own  because  they  have  created  it  by  their 
study.  It  usually  possesses  more  meaning  and  per- 
manency than  it  otherwise  would.  The  results  fur- 
nish the  principles  necessary  to  explain  concrete  in- 
stances and  problems  which  are  met  later.  Then,  too, 
through  use,  pupils  learn  the  technique  of  the  process 
of  induction,  and  have  a  method  by  which  they  may 
independently  study  their  environment. 

Limitations  of  the  method 

Teachers  may  occasionally  resort  to  induction  when 
the  material  is  not  valuable  enough  to  justify  it;  that 
is,  they  are  not  content  at  times  to  bring  the  children 
into  contact  with  individual  ideas  that  are  interesting 
and  worth  while  in  themselves,  but  try  to  force  con- 
clusions which  either  are  not  valuable  or  which  the 
material  never  was  meant  to  yield.  Thus  to  try  to 
derive  a  lesson  on  table  manners  or  morals  from  the 
story  of  Alice  in  Wonderland  is  absurd.  When  the 
inductive  process  was  introduced  into  this  country 
in  the  form  of  the  Five  Formal  Steps,  many  teachers 
carried  its  use  to  the  extreme  and  attempted  to  ap- 
ply it  to  all  material,  thus  making  the  work  exceed- 
ingly formal  and  difficult.  At  the  present  time  the 


THE  INDUCTIVE  LESSON  53 

pendulum  has  swung  too  far  in  the  opposite  direction, 
and  teachers  attempt  to  acquaint  their  pupils  with 
general  conclusions  and  ideas  without  providing  an 
adequate  basis  of  concrete  ideas. 

There  is  certain  material  which  should  be  carried 
no  further  than  the  step  of  presentation.  The  pupils 
should  know  it  just  because  it  is  interesting  of  itself, 
or  is  interesting  for  the  time  being;  but,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out  in  this  chapter,  there  is  much  subject- 
matter  to  which  the  complete  inductive  process  should 
be  applied.  Teachers  may  occasionally  resort  to  induc- 
tion when  the  material  is  not  valuable  enough  to  justify 
it ;  but  experience  shows  that  the  error  lies  rather  in  not 
using  it  enough,  and  in  attempting  to  tell,  instead  of 
leading  pupils  to  think,  and  to  discover  explanations 
and  conclusions  for  themselves. 

Summary.  (1)  The  purpose  of  the  inductive  lesson  is  to 
aid  pupils  to  master  values,  to  reorganize  experience  by  dis- 
covering logical  groupings,  and  by  working  out  the  principles, 
rules,  definitions,  or  other  forms  of  generalization  which  ex- 
plain classes  of  ideas  or  processes.  (2)  The  steps  in  an  induc- 
tive lesson  are  (a)  the  preparation,  (6)  the  presentation,  (c) 
the  comparison,  (d)  the  generalization.  (3)  The  advantages 
of  this  type  of  teaching  are  that  the  pupils  know  thoroughly 
what  they  know,  that  they  are  provided  through  it  with  the 
means  of  solving  concrete  problems  later,  and  that  they 
learn  through  its  exercise  a  logical  method  of  working.  (4) 
It  is  useless  and  unwise  to  try  to  employ  inductive  teaching 
with  all  material,  since  not  all  subject-matter  possesses  logi- 
cal value.  Some  subject-matter  has  value  which  is  tempo- 
rary, or  which  is  aesthetic  rather  than  logical. 


54  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

REFERENCES  :  C.  A.  and  F.  M.  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the 
Recitation,  chapters  ii-vni;  W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process, 
chap,  xix;  John  Dewey,  How  We  Think,  chap,  vn;  E.  L.  Thorn- 
dike,  Principle*  of  Teaching,  chap.  x. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Examine  textbooks  in  grammar  and  arithmetic  and  name  any 
which  employ  the  inductive  method  to  develop  the  rules  and 
definitions. 

2.  Give  arguments  for  and  against  placing  the  statement  of  the 
pupils'  aim  at  the  beginning  of  the  step  of  preparation. 

8.  Give  illustrations  of  at  least  four  ways  by  which  the  students 
may  learn  the  facts  about  the  individual  cases  studied  in  the 
step  of  presentation. 

4.  What  advantage,  if  any,  exists  in  having  variety  in  the  objects 
studied  preparatory  to  forming  a  general  conclusion? 

5.  Write  a  list  of  sentences  which  you  would  use  to  teach  the  idea 
of  adverb. 

6.  Examine  the  sentences  to  determine  (1)  whether  you  have  illus- 
trated all  the  uses  of  the  adverb;  (2)  whether  you  have  given 
sentences  enough  to  make  the  different  uses  clear;  and  (3) 
whether  you  have  varied  the  forms  of  the  sentences  sufficiently 
to  help  the  pupils  gain  the  desired  ideas,  or  whether  you  have 
used  practically  the  same  type  of  sentence  with  the  adverbs 
located  in  the  same  place  throughout. 

7.  How  can  you  help  pupils  gain  the  knowledge  of  likenesses  and 
differences  without  telling  them? 

8.  When  pupils  have,  through  induction,  gained  the  idea  desired, 
how  are  they  to  obtain  the  name  which  applies  to  the  idea;  that 
is,  when  they  discover  that  a  certain  class  of  words  can  be  used 
in  place  of  nouns,  how  will  they  get  the  name  pronoun? 

0.  How  many  forms  of  general  knowledge  such  as  rules,  laws,  do 
you  know?  Make  a  list.  Compare  with  others. 

10.  Would  you  ever  accept  from  pupils  a  generalization  made  by 
them  which  is  correct  but  which  is  crudely  worded?  Why,  or 
why  not? 

11.  How  can  pupils  be  aided  in  good  wording  of  conclusions? 

12.  What  generalizations  have  you  ever  had  pupils  verify?  Have 
you  been  in  the  habit  of  verifying  your  own? 

13.  What  advantages  are  there  in  learning  to  verify  conclusions? 

14.  Name  some  specific  piece  of  subject-matter  which  you  would 
teach  by  means  of  the  first  two  formal  steps  only.   Why  not 
employ  the  complete  inductive  process? 


VI 

LESSONS  IN  WHICH  GENERAL  KNOWLEDGE  IS 
EMPLOYED:  THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON 

What  is  meant  by  deduction 

ONLY  a  part  of  the  process  of  education  consists  in 
the  formation  of  explanations,  principles,  theories,  and 
other  methods  of  controlling  experience.  A  very  im- 
portant function  of  training  is  to  teach  students  to 
master  difficulties  by  employing  those  forms  of  control 
established  either  by  the  students  themselves  or  by 
others.  This  process  of  solving  a  problem,  of  overcom- 
ing a  difficulty  whatever  its  form,  by  bringing  to  bear 
upon  the  problem  or  difficulty  some  conclusion  already 
formed,  is  known  as  the  deductive  process.  The 
teacher  resorts  to  it  whenever  he  causes  his  pupils  to 
answer  questions,  solve  problems,  or  master  the  puz- 
zling situations  which  confront  them  by  referring  to 
rules,  principles,  laws,  axioms,  or  other  general  conclu- 
sions already  hi  their  possession.  A  relation  is  estab- 
lished between  some  more  or  less  concrete  idea  and  the 
fundamental  truth  upon  which  it  rests.  The  applica- 
tion of  the  truth  is  thus  extended  and  the  concrete  idea 
acquires  the  meaning  which  it  did  not  before  possess; 
that  is,  the  meaning  of  the  class  to  which  it  is  assigned. 
A  teacher  asked  a  class,  which  was  studying  Homer's 


58  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Odyssey,  whether  Ulysses,  whose  men  had  gone  to  the 
palace  of  Circe  the  enchantress  and  had  not  returned, 
would  not  sail  away  in  fear  lest  some  misfortune  might 
occur  to  him  also.  "No,"  was  the  answer.  "  He  would 
not  go  away  because  he  was  a  good  leader  and  a  good 
leader  does  not  desert  his  men."  Here  the  fundamen- 
tal idea  is  that  a  good  leader  will  not  desert  his  men. 
By  relating  the  idea  of  Ulysses  to  this  truth,  the  pupil 
found  his  answer.  The  process  is  clearly  deductive. 
By  use  of  it,  new  light  is  thrown  upon  the  character  of 
Ulysses,  since  he,  having  been  put  into  the  class  of  good 
leaders,  has  ascribed  to  him  thereby  the  traits  of  the 
class.  Also,  when  the  child's  judgment  that  Ulysses 
would  not  desert  his  men  was  confirmed  by  referring  to 
the  narrative,  the  fundamental  idea  about  good  leaders 
was  strengthened,  so  that  the  pupil  might  well  have 
exclaimed,  "Did  I  not  say  a  good  leader  would  not 
desert  his  men?  " 

Deduction  in  its  relation  to  the  inductive  process 

This  process  of  deduction  is  related  very  closely  to 
that  of  induction,  so  closely,  in  fact,  that  the  inductive 
lesson  is  not  considered  complete  until  the  step  of 
application  has  been  taken,  and  that  is  essentially  de- 
ductive. When  all  of  the  five  formal  steps  —  namely, 
preparation,  presentation,  comparison,  generalization, 
and  application  —  have  been  employed  in  a  lesson,  the 
whole  process  is  usually  called  the  inductive-deductive 
lesson.  During  the  steps  of  presentation,  comparison, 


THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON  57 

and  generalization,  the  abstract  idea  or  general  princi- 
ple is  formed.  In  the  application,  this  idea  is  employed 
to  explain  individual  situations  or  examples,  to  give 
the  right  clue  to  action.  When  pupils  have  learned 
what  a  pronoun  is,  they  apply  their  knowledge  by 
identifying  pronouns  occurring  in  lists  of  words,  in 
books,  or  in  their  own  oral  speech.  When  they  have 
learned  how  to  reduce  fractions  to  their  lowest  terms, 
the  application  consists  in  the  actual  reduction  of 
fractions  to  their  lowest  terms.  Words  should  be  rec- 
ognized by  pupils  as  pronouns  because  they  are  used  in 
place  of  nouns;  and  the  reduction  of  a  fraction,  as  -3^, 
to  its  lowest  terms  should  be  based  upon  the  law 
that  a  fraction  is  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms  by  divid- 
ing both  numerator  and  denominator  by  the  largest 
number  that  will  exactly  divide  both.  When  pupils 
make  such  use  of  their  knowledge,  they  are  reasoning 
deductively. 

It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  the  deductive  phase  of 
teaching  occurs  hi  very  direct  relation  with  the  induc- 
tive lesson  in  the  form  of  the  application  of  the  truth 
just  formulated.  Thus,  after  the  statement  of  a  rule 
or  definition  in  grammar  or  rhetoric,  or  a  rule  in  arith- 
metic or  algebra,  there  is  often  a  list  of  examples  involv- 
ing the  use  of  the  definition  or  rule.  But  deduction  is 
frequently  involved  in  situations  which  are  not  so 
neatly  collected  and  labeled,  and  in  which  the  principle 
which  must  solve  the  problem  is  not  furnished  ready 
for  use  and  printed  in  italics.  It  must  be  searched  out 


58  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

of  past  experience  and  fitted  to  the  case  in  hand.  If  a 
person  should  be  asked  to  explain  how  a  pump  works, 
or  why  water  boils  at  a  lower  temperature  in  Denver 
than  hi  New  York  City,  he  would  probably  have  to 
reflect  for  a  time  before  finding  the  right  explanations 
even  when  he  has  them  safely  memorized.  It  takes 
searching  to  find  the  reason  that  applies.  This  is  the 
constant  experience  of  the  doctor,  the  lawyer,  the  engi- 
neer, of  people  in  every  walk  of  life.  Problems  arise 
in  miscellaneous  fashion,  and  the  guiding  principles 
must  sometimes  be  sought  long  and  earnestly  before 
they  are  found. 

Steps  or  stages  in  a  deductive  exercise 

a.  The  problem.  First  of  all,  there  is  a  problem  to  be 
solved,  a  situation  to  be  met.  This  must  be  clearly  felt 
by  the  pupils,  as  they  are  to  engage  in  the  deductive 
process  of  reasoning,  and  that  requires  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  problem  that  must  be  satisfied  in  the  mind  of 
the  person  who  is  to  employ  the  deductive  process. 
This  problem  may  not  be  more  complicated  than  the 
necessity  of  finding  the  cost  of  one  orange  when  six 
oranges  cost  thirty  cents;  of  determining  whether  /  or 
me  should  be  used  after  and  in  the  sentence,  "The  pic- 
ture was  given  to  you  and — ";  of  deciding  what 
colors  to  mix  in  order  to  produce  green. 

6.  The  study  of  details  and  principles.  Many  mis- 
takes in  life  are  made  because  of  the  attempt  to  apply 
remedies,  to  make  explanations,  or  to  rush  into  action 


THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON  59 

before  the  thing  which  is  to  be  done  or  explained  or 
remedied  is  clearly  understood.  We  need  to  know  the 
facts  in  the  case  before  we  can  choose  the  right  course 
or  the  proper  basis  for  the  solution  of  our  difficulty. 
We  must  collect  data  bearing  upon  the  problem.  The 
physician  observes  his  patient  with  care,  seeking  many 
details  and  frequently  resorting  to  the  use  of  specially 
adapted  instruments  in  order  to  secure  these  details 
before  he  goes  further  with  his  diagnosis.  Before  the 
engineer  can  safely  decide  upon  the  kind  of  bridge  to 
build,  he  must  ascertain  many  facts  about  the  place, 
the  height  of  the  banks,  the  nature  of  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  the  amount  of  water  at  different  seasons,  the 
pressure  to  be  expected  from  ice,  the  kind  and  amount 
of  traffic  for  which  the  bridge  is  intended,  and  many 
other  points.  So  the  pupil  who  must  classify  words 
must  find  out  the  facts  necessary  for  that  purpose. 
Does  the  word  modify?  If  so,  what  kind  of  a  word  does 
it  modify?  It  is  useless  to  look  for  the  class  until  the 
essential  details  are  known.  Until  the  significant  facts 
about  New  York  and  Denver  are  known,  there  is  no 
clue  to  the  physical  principle  which  explains  why  water 
boils  at  a  lower  temperature  in  one  city  than  in  the 
other. 

c.  The  hypothesis  or  inference.  While  examining 
data,  another  phase  of  deduction  keeps  coming  into 
activity.  It  is  the  attempt  to  apply  to  the  solution  of 
the  problem  at  hand  some  principle  or  explanation 
connected  with  the  data  discovered.  This  step  is 


60  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

known  as  inference,  or  the  forming  of  an  hypothesis. 
Every  teacher's  experience  bears  testimony  to  the 
statement  that  pupils  need  training  in  the  process  of 
associating  the  given  facts  with  the  right  principles. 
Young  people  guess  wide  of  the  mark,  are  irrelevant 
altogether,  or  find  theories  which  are  not  adequate. 
To  the  question,  "What  conditions  make  it  possible 
to  grow  rice  in  Texas?"  the  answer  is  suggested, 
"Texas  is  the  largest  State  in  the  Union."  This  reply 
is  no  more  irrelevant  than  thousands  of  explanations 
suggested  by  pupils  not  only  in  elementary  schools  but 
in  higher  schools  as  well.  The  explanations  do  not 
explain;  they  do  not  apply.  Instead  of  rejecting  such 
replies  at  once,  the  pupils  should  be  helped  to  realize 
that,  starting  from  the  data  given,  they  must  seek  for 
an  explanation  which  bears  upon  the  problem.  Thus 
the  word  to  be  classified  is  found  to  be  a  word  which 
modules.  The  pupil  may  conclude  at  once  that  it  is  an 
adjective  because  adjectives  are  modifiers.  Further 
search  for  facts  reveals  that  the  word  in  question  modi- 
fies a  verb.  The  adjective  hypothesis  must  then  be 
discarded  in  favor  of  the  idea  that  the  word  must  be 
an  adverb,  because  words  which  modify  the  meaning 
of  verbs  are  adverbs.  The  more  or  less  scientific  guess 
or  explanation  offered  can  be  regarded  merely  as  an 
hypothesis,  or  inference,  that  is,  a  tentative  theory 
which  must  be  examined  to  see  if  it  meets  the  situa- 
tion. The  pupil  who  gives  size  as  the  reason  for  rice- 
growing  hi  Texas  should  be  required  to  explain  how 


THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON  61 

that  factor  applies  to  the  situation.  He  then  discovers 
his  own  error. 

The  fraction^  is  to  be  reduced  to  lower  terms.  The 
class  stumbles  over  the  process.  "How  is  a  fraction 
reduced  to  lower  terms?  "  asks  the  teacher.  "By  multi- 
plying both  terms  by  the  same  number,"  answers  a 
pupil.  "When  the  fraction  is  reduced  to  lower  terms 
will  the  numbers  be  larger  or  smaller  than  they  now 
are? "  "They  will  be  smaller."  "If  you  multiply  both 
terms  will  the  resulting  numbers  be  larger  or  smaller 
than  in  our  fraction  f£  ?  "  "They  will  be  larger."  "Will 
multiplying  reduce  the  fraction  to  lower  terms?" 
"No."  "How  can  numbers  be  reduced? "  "Either  by 
subtraction  or  division."  "Which  of  these  processes 
should  be  employed  in  the  reduction  of  fractions  to 
lower  terms?"  "Division."  "How  is  a  fraction  re- 
duced to  lower  terms?" 

In  this  instance  the  pupil  has  been  compelled  to 
examine  his  rashly  stated  inference,  to  see  what  it 
means,  and  to  decide  whether  it  is  the  right  one  for  the 
situation.  One  of  the  things  he  should  learn  to  do  fre- 
quently in  life  is  to  make  his  inferences  with  care.  The 
teacher  who  cuts  short  the  process  by  saying,  "  No, 
you  do  not  multiply,  you  divide  in  order  to  reduce 
fractions  to  lower  terms,"  deprives  pupils  of  needed 
training,  though  he  may  have  helped  to  a  quick  answer. 

d.  Verification  of  hypothesis  finally  selected.  The  next 
step  in  deduction  follows  closely  and  quickly  upon  the 
discovery  of  the  right  principle.  What  is  known  to  be 


62  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

true  of  the  class  to  which  the  problem  belongs  is  in- 
ferred to  be  true  of  the  problem,  and  the  latter  is  solved 
by  applying  the  principle.  In  the  example  of  reduction 
just  given,  the  questioning  stopped  with  the  statement 
of  the  rule  for  the  reduction  of  a  fraction  to  lower 
terms.  In  verifying  his  inference,  the  pupil  divides 
both  terms  of  the  fraction  by  the  same  number,  and 
examines  the  resulting  fraction  to  see  if  it  is  really 
expressed  in  lower  terms  than  the  original.  The  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  or  difficulty  constitutes  a  verifica- 
tion of  the  reasoning  process  employed.  If  the  pupil, 
after  dividing  both  terms  of  his  fraction  by  the  same 
number,  finds  the  new  numerator  and  the  new  denomi- 
nator to  consist  of  smaller  numbers,  he  knows  he  has 
reduced  his  fraction  to  lower  terms.  The  man  who 
invents  a  new  process  for  the  manufacture  of  steel 
verifies  his  theory  by  the  actual  making  of  steel.  The 
man  who  derives  a  cure  for  tuberculosis  accepts  or 
rejects  it  by  its  effects  upon  tubercular  patients. 

But  not  all  verification  works  out  so  visibly.  In 
moral  and  aesthetic  problems,  one's  self-approval  or 
feeling  of  satisfaction  is  often  the  test  of  the  theory 
selected  and  applied.  Combinations  of  colors  or  tones 
for  certain  purposes  are  due  to  custom,  or  to  individ- 
ual taste.  They  cannot  be  verified  by  appeal  to  logic; 
but  they  may  be  approved  if  they  are  found  to  con- 
form to  accepted  standards. 

A  negative  form  of  verification  is  the  absence  of  any 
ideas  or  elements  in  conflict  with  the  theory  adopted. 


THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON  6S 

This  fact  suggests  that  it  is  advisable  to  look  for  data 
which  oppose  the  hypothesis  formed.  A  simple  experi- 
ence in  physics  illustrates  this  point.  Some  water  in  a 
tightly  corked  bottle  was  heated  until  it  boiled.  It  was 
removed  from  the  fire  and  held  under  a  stream  of 
water.  The  water  in  the  bottle  boiled  furiously.  The 
children  inferred  that  the  stream  of  water  must  be  hot 
because  it  is  always  the  application  of  heat  which 
makes  water  boil.  Investigation  proved  to  them  that 
the  stream  of  water  was  cold.  To  find  that  heat  causes 
water  to  boil  is  one  theory.  To  find  that  nothing  else 
does  so  is  quite  another.  Children  may  be  justified  in 
accepting  a  given  explanation  upon  the  basis  that  they 
can  find  nothing  to  contradict  it.  Scientists  have  a 
long  list  of  hypotheses  which  they  justify  because  there 
is  nothing  to  oppose  them;  so,  while  they  cannot  prove 
that  they  are  true,  they  nevertheless  employ  them. 

In  order  to  confirm  his  own  solution  of  a  difficulty, 
or  to  discover  contradiction,  a  pupil  submits  his  results 
to  others.  He  talks  his  solution  over  with  his  fellows 
and  compares  results.  He  seeks  the  teacher's  opinion 
or  the  opinions  of  people  outside  of  school.  He  refers  to 
books.  In  brief,  he  looks  to  the  experience  and  judg- 
ment of  others  for  confirmation  or  correction  of  his 
solution.  It  is  right  that  he  should  do  so,  though  he 
should  not  do  it  to  the  extent  that  he  forms  the  habit 
of  giving  up  his  own  conclusions  as  soon  as  he  discovers 
opposition.  Giving  up  conclusions  should  be  as  ra- 
tional a  process  as  forming  them. 


64  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Use  of  textbooks  in  deduction 

To  reason  deductively,  to  meet  situations  by  em- 
ploying general  principles,  implies  that  pupils  have 
these  principles  at  their  disposal.  Through  the  process 
of  inductive  thinking,  whether  outside  of  school  or 
with  the  teacher's  assistance,  they  acquire  a  large 
number  of  general  notions.  However,  there  is  not  time 
enough  to  develop  all  that  they  need,  and  furthermore, 
they  can  employ  theories  which  they  are  not  mature 
enough  or  experienced  enough  to  evolve.  These  they 
must  obtain  from  some  available  source,  and  then  use. 
They  must  rely  on  some  authority  at  this  point, 
whether  it  be  the  teacher,  the  textbook,  or  some  other 
help.  The  problem  once  presented  itself  in  the  writer's 
experience  of  finding  the  contents  of  a  car  of  oil,  the 
car  being  in  the  form  of  a  recumbent  cylinder,  of 
given  length  and  diameter  and  lacking  several  inches 
of  being  full.  Had  the  cylinder  stood  on  one  end,  the 
solution  would  have  been  easy;  but  it  rested  on  the 
side,  and  no  rule  was  known  to  the  writer  that  would 
get  the  answer,  and  the  answer  was  imperative.  A 
textbook  on  engineering  was  consulted  and  the  for- 
mula which  applied  to  such  problems  was  found  and 
applied.  It  is  quite  conceivable  that  pupils  hi  school 
might  need  just  such  a  formula,  and  that  they  might 
not  have  the  knowledge  of  mathematics  necessary  to 
help  them  derive  it  inductively.  They  need  to  learn 
where  to  look  for  such  helps,  and  they  need  to  recog- 
nize their  suitability  when  found. 


THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON  65 

Suggestions  in  regard  to  the  use  of  the  deductive 
process 

What  should  the  teacher  do  to  aid  pupils  in  their 
efforts  to  think  deductively?  In  the  first  place,  he 
should  discover  before  class  what  places  in  the  les- 
sons afford  really  good  opportunities  for  using  the  pro- 
cess. Grammar  and  mathematics  thrust  opportunities 
upon  the  class,  but  geography,  history,  and  the  other 
subjects  are  not  so  openly  deductive.  When  the 
teacher  has  decided  upon  the  situations  that  are  neces- 
sarily deductive,  or  that  can  be  made  so  to  the  gain  of 
the  class,  he  must  so  shape  the  work  with  the  class  that 
the  pupils  will  come  upon  the  problem  or  situation 
which  requires  solution  or  explanation  or  decision. 

The  pupils  will  probably  need  some  help  in  the 
Carious  steps:  first,  hi  seeing  just  what  the  situation 
is;  second,  in  choosing  the  right  principle;  third,  in 
making  the  inference  and  in  solving  the  difficulty; 
and,  lastly,  in  the  verification.  While  the  steps  ought 
not  to  be  made  too  easy,  and  while  there  ought  not 
to  be  too  many  suggestive  questions  which  ignore  the 
ability  of  the  pupils,  still  some  assistance  is  often 
necessary.  The  pupils  sometimes  grope  blindly  for  the 
general  idea  which  gives  the  solution.  They  do  not 
know  which  way  to  turn  or  to  look.  The  teacher  needs 
to  guide  their  search  and  sometimes  to  suggest  possibil- 
ities for  consideration.  As  the  class  grows  in  skill,  the 
teacher  should  withdraw  more  and  more  from  this 
helping  and  guiding  process  in  the  selection  of  princi- 


66  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

pies.  He  should  insist  upon  the  application  of  the 
theory  selected  to  the  case  in  hand,  not  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  solution  of  the  problems  to  be  solved,  but  to 
further  the  habit  on  the  part  of  the  pupils  of  testing 
their  choice  of  theory  in  actual  use.  He  can  help  them 
verify  their  results,  not  merely  by  passing  judgment 
himself,  but  by  suggesting  means  of  verification  and 
by  holding  pupils  to  verification  when  verification  is 
necessary  and  feasible. 

It  is  possible  that  most  teachers  use  the  deductive 
process  more  frequently  than  they  are  aware.  It  may 
be  that  induction  has  been  emphasized  so  much  that 
the  deductive  lesson  has  not  received  due  considera- 
tion, and  that  its  importance  has  been  overlooked.  It 
is  a  necessary  means  of  working  out  puzzling  situa- 
tions, of  solving  difficulties,  of  reasoning  out  new 
knowledge,  and  our  pupils  need  all  the  training  possi- 
ble along  just  such  lines.  By  their  own  acquired  wis- 
dom and  by  the  wisdom  of  the  race,  they  may  meet  and 
solve  life's  knotty  problems  if  they  know  how  to  utilize 
this  wisdom. 

Professor  Dewey  gives  us  this  very  helpful  suggestion 
in  regard  to  the  use  of  deduction :  — 

In  other  subjects  and  topics,  the  deductive  phase  is  iso- 
lated, and  is  treated  as  if  it  were  complete  in  itself.  This  false 
isolation  may  show  itself  in  either  (and  both)  of  two  points; 
namely,  at  the  beginning  or  at  the  end  of  the  resort  to  gen- 
eral intellectual  procedure. 

Beginning  with  definitions,  rules,  general  principles,  class- 


THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON  67 

ifications,  and  the  like,  is  a  form  of  the  first  error.  This 
method  has  been  such  a  uniform  object  of  attack  on  the  part 
of  all  educational  reformers  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  dwell 
upon  it  further  than  to  note  that  the  mistake  is,  logically, 
due  to  the  attempt  to  introduce  deductive  considerations 
without  first  making  acquaintance  with  the  particular  factu 
that  create  a  need  for  the  generalizing  rational  devices.  Un- 
fortunately, the  reformer  sometimes  carries  his  objection 
too  far,  or  rather  locates  it  in  the  wrong  place.  He  is  led  into 
a  tirade  against  all  definition,  all  systematization,  all  use  of 
general  principles,  instead  of  confining  himself  to  pointing 
out  their  futility  and  their  deadness  when  not  properly  moti- 
vated by  familiarity  with  concrete  experiences. 

The  isolation  of  deduction  is  seen,  at  the  other  end,  wher- 
ever there  is  failure  to  clinch  and  test  the  results  of  the  gen- 
eral reasoning  processes  by  application  to  new  concrete  cases. 
The  final  point  of  the  deductive  devices  lies  in  their  use  in 
assimilating  and  comprehending  individual  cases.  No  one 
understands  a  general  principle  fully  —  no  matter  how  ade- 
quately he  can  demonstrate  it,  to  say  nothing  of  repeating 
it  —  till  he  can  employ  it  in  the  mastery  of  new  situations, 
which,  if  they  are  new,  differ  in  manifestation  from  the  cases 
used  in  reaching  the  generalization.  Too  often  the  textbook 
or  teacher  is  contented  with  a  series  of  somewhat  perfunctory 
examples  and  illustrations,  and  the  student  is  not  forced  to 
carry  the  principle  that  he  has  formulated  over  into  further 
cases  of  his  experience.  In  so  far,  the  principle  is  inert  and 
dead.' 

Summary.  (1)  By  deduction  is  meant  the  establishment 
of  control  over  individual  ideas  or  situations  through  the 
application  of  principles,  rules,  definitions,  laws,  axioms,  or 
other  forms  of  general  knowledge  possessed  by  the  individual 
who  makes  the  application  of  them  to  the  concrete  case.  As 

1  John  Dewey,  How  We  Think,  pp.  98-99. 


68  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

the  result  of  the  process,  the  individual  case  takes  on  larger 
meaning,  and  the  principle  or  law  is  broadened  in  applica- 
tion. (2)  Deduction  is  ultimately  related  to  induction.  This 
relationship  should  be  maintained  in  the  teaching  process. 
The  inductive  process  is  not  complete  until  it  terminates  in 
general  knowledge.  This  knowledge  should  be  employed  in 
the  interpretation  of  individual  problems  such  as  gave  rise 
to  the  inductive  process.  (3)  The  steps  in  the  deductive  proc- 
ess are  (a)  the  realization  of  a  problem;  (6)  the  study  of  de- 
tails and  the  search  for  principles,  rules,  laws,  or  definitions 
which  will  explain  them;  (c)  the  formation  of  an  hypothesis 
or  inference;  (d)  the  verification  of  the  hypothesis  or  infer- 
ence. (4)  Textbooks  afford  frequent  opportunities  for  the 
^xercise  of  the  deductive  process.  They  frequently  give  re- 
sults of  inductive  reasoning  which  pupils  usually  accept 
without  question.  Such  books  should  afford  many  problems 
requiring  deductive  effort.  Furthermore,  textbooks  contain 
statements  of  rules,  laws,  principles,  and  definitions  to  which 
students  should  refer  for  verification  of  their  own  efforts,  and 
for  aid  in  solving  their  difficulties.  (5)  The  teacher  is  cau- 
tioned not  to  attempt  the  omission  of  the  deductive  process 
in  order  to  hurry  the  pupils  forward  to  correct  answers.  Pu- 
pils need  training  in  reasoning  quite  as  much,  or  even  more, 
than  they  need  some  of  the  answers.  They  need  assistance 
and  patient  treatment  while  exercising  the  different  steps  of 
the  process.  The  suggestion  is  made  that  the  teacher  guard 
against  excessive  employment  of  deduction  in  his  own  teach- 
ing procedure,  that  is,  against  trying  to  force  into  use  general 
forms  of  knowledge  for  which  the  pupils  are  not  prepared. 
It  is  also  suggested  that  pupils  be  led  to  use  freely  the  under- 
lying ideas  they  already  possess  in  the  mastery  of  new  situa- 
tions. We  must  guard  against  two  evils  in  connection  with 
the  employment  of  deduction;  namely,  trying  to  use  gen- 
eral principles  before  the  pupils  possess  them,  and,  secondly, 
omitting  to  use  them  when  pupils  do  possess  them. 


THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON  69 

REFERENCES:  C.  A.  and  F.  M.  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the  Re- 
citation, chap,  ix ;  John  Dewey,  How  We  Think,  chap,  vn;  W.  C. 
Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  chap,  xx;  Colvin  and  Bagley,  Hu- 
man Behavior,  chap,  xvni;  L.  B.  Earhart,  Teaching  Children  to 
Study,  chap,  in;  W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  chap,  xiv; 
E.  L.  Thorndike,  Principles  of  Teaching,  chap,  x;  G.  D.  Strayer, 
A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process,  chap.  vi. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Cite  an  instance  when  a  teacher  should  have  required  pupils  to 
explain  a  situation  by  means  of  general  knowledge  already  in 
their  possession  and  failed  to  do  so. 

2.  Cite  an  instance  when  a  teacher  attempted  to  have  pupils  ex- 
plain a  situation  through  a  principle  or  rule  which  they  did  not 
possess  or  clearly  understand. 

8.  Does  failure  to  classify  a  word  as  a  verb  always  mean  that  pupils 
do  not  know  the  definition  of  verb?  What  else  may  it  mean? 

4.  What  objection  is  there  to  telling  a  class  that  if  equals  be  added 
to  equals  the  results  will  be  equal,  and  then  giving  two  or  three 
illustrations  to  show  what  is  meant? 

5.  A  certain  writer  maintains  that  when  general  truths  may  be 
grasped  as  readily  as  the  one  stated  in  the  preceding  exercise, 
it  is  advisable  to  state  them  simply  and  clearly  and  then  illus- 
trate what  is  meant.   Do  you  agree  with  him?  What  advan- 
tage is  there  in  this  plan,  providing  it  works  successfully? 

6.  Give  instances  of  the  use  of  deduction  following  induction  in 
five  school  subjects. 

7.  Why  should  there  be  a  careful  study  of  the  individual  instance 
or  example  in  deduction? 

8.  What  mistake  or  mistakes  are  likely  to  be  made  in  connection 
with  forming  the  hypothesis  or  making  the  inference? 

9.  How  can  you  help  pupils  guard  against  the  mistakes  mentioned 
in  exercise  8  ? 

10.  Why  should  inferences  be  verified? 

11.  Suggest  several  ways  in  which  the  conclusion  may  be  verified. 

12.  In  teaching,  which  type  of  exercise  should  predominate,  —  the 
inductive  or  the  deductive? 

13.  What  difficulties  do  you  foresee  in  the  application  of  general 
truths  learned  by  the  inductive  process? 

14.  Through  which  process  of  learning,  the  inductive  or  deductive, 
have  you  profited  most?  Suffered  most  in  expenditure  of  time 
and  energy? 


vn 

THE  STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES 

The  nature  of  the  object  lesson 

THE  object  lesson  is  a  teaching  exercise  which  aims  to 
increase  knowledge  by  the  direct  study  of  material, 
processes,  or  conditions.  Such  a  lesson  might  be  given 
in  botany  with  the  plants  present  to  observe;  in  phy- 
sics, with  the  apparatus  before  the  class  and  the  experi- 
ment performed;  in  chemistry,  with  the  action  of  one 
substance  upon  another  demonstrated;  in  geography, 
through  the  observation  lesson  in  which  the  pupils  see 
for  themselves  the  forms  of  land  and  water,  or  the 
action  of  water  upon  soil  and  rocks.  A  visit  to  a  mill,  a 
shop,  a  store,  or  a  ship,  to  see  what  is  done  and  how 
the  work  is  performed,  is  an  object  lesson.  Trips  to  the 
aquarium,  the  museum,  the  zoological  garden,  the  bo- 
tanical garden,  and  the  lessons  in  the  school  garden 
all  belong  in  this  category,  as  do  also  many  of  the  les- 
sons in  cooking,  sewing,  and  manual  training. 

Through  these  lessons  pupils  should  gain  intimate 
acquaintance  with  a  wealth  of  concrete  material  in 
their  environment.  The  resulting  knowledge  should  be 
all  the  more  clear  because  several  senses  have  been 
active  in  acquiring  it.  Sight  and  hearing,  and  fre- 
quently taste,  smell,  and  touch,  add  their  quota  to  the 


STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES      71 

fund.  Mere  telling  or  reading  or  picture  study  cannot 
impart  the  vividness,  the  details,  or  the  interest  that 
come  from  seeing  things  for  one's  self,  and  of  being  a 
participant  at  times  in  the  processes  which  bring  about 
results.  Vividness,  participation  and  interest  are  in- 
valuable aids  in  making  impressions  so  deep  that  they 
are  long  retained. 

The  relation  of  the  object  lesson  to  the  inductive 
lesson 

Since  the  objects  studied  must  be  related  to  knowl- 
edge already  possessed  in  order  to  be  understood,  and 
since  the  ideas  gained  are  derived  from  the  analytic 
study  of  the  material  itself,  the  object  lesson  involves 
the  first  two  steps  of  the  inductive  lesson,  —  the  steps 
of  preparation  and  presentation.  Frequently  the 
knowledge  gained  from  the  study  of  concrete  material 
and  processes  is  used  as  a  basis  for  comparison,  gener- 
alization, and  application,  and  in  that  case  all  of  the 
formal  steps  are  employed.  Many  times  a  single  form 
—  as  a  stream,  a  mountain,  a  plant,  or  an  animal  —  is 
studied  thoroughly,  and  is  then  made  to  serve  as  a  type 
for  similar  objects,  thus  furnishing  a  core  for  later  com- 
parisons and  generalizations.  The  teacher  may  never 
attempt  to  base  a  general  conclusion  upon  the  object 
studied,  but,  through  the  natural  tendency  to  reason 
from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract,  the  pupils  in  the 
course  of  time  may  of  themselves  use  the  results  of  the 
object  lessons  to  derive  classifications,  explanations,  or 
laws. 


72  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

The  need  of  the  step  of  preparation  in  the  object  lesson 

Much  of  the  so-called  nature  study  in  our  schools 
serves  as  a  sad  warning  as  to  how  object  lessons  should 
not  be  conducted.  With  no  preliminaries  whatsoever, 
the  pupils  are  expected  to  be  interested  in  the  object 
presented  and  to  see  just  what  they  ought  to  see.  With 
no  ideas  in  mind  to  serve  as  a  means  of  explaining  the 
new  facts,  and  with  no  live  motive  for  observation, 
they  either  give  a  list  of  the  anatomical  parts,  or  recite 
in  perfunctory  fashion  from  a  cut-and-dried  outline. 
Why  should  there  be  an  object  lesson  unless  the  thing 
to  be  observed  has  value  either  in  the  purpose  it  serves 
directly,  or  in  its  relation  to  other  objects  or  processes? 
Granted  that  the  lesson  is  to  be  conducted  for  the 
purpose  of  mastering  some  value,  there  must,  then,  be 
preparation  of  some  kind  to  arouse  the  motive,  or  feel- 
ing of  need,  that  will  be  satisfied  through  the  lesson.  A 
lesson  on  the  canary  will  not  consist  of  the  statement 
that  the  bird  has  feathers,  bill,  and  feet,  but  will  be 
conducted,  possibly,  to  find  out  why  people  keep  cana- 
ries as  pets,  and  how  these  birds  should  be  cared  for. 

Not  only  must  the  motive  be  aroused  in  the  minds  of 
the  pupils;  the  related  ideas  which  form  the  basis  for 
the  understanding  of  the  new  knowledge  which  is  to  be 
gained  must  be  recalled,  as  explained  in  the  chapter  on 
the  inductive  lesson.  If  two  classes  of  levers  have  been 
studied  and  a  third  one  is  to  be  presented,  the  relevant 
facts  about  the  first  two  classes  should  be  called  up  and 
made  ready  to  serve  as  the  means  of  explaining  the 


STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES      73 

new  form.  Frequently,  the  development  of  an  aim  or 
purpose  is  sufficient  to  bring  to  mind  the  related  ideas 
which  are  needed. 

The  teaching  of  the  new  lesson 

a.  The  presence  of  a  motive  serves  to  guide  and  to 
limit  the  observations  and  the  activities  in  the  step  of 
presentation.  An  object  lesson  in  geography  without  a 
clear  aim  is  a  desultory  proceeding,  and  frequently 
results  in  much  disorder  and  little  knowledge.  The 
aims  in  any  one  lesson  should  be  few  and  distinct,  and 
the  attention  of  the  class  should  be  held  closely  to 
observing  the  facts  which  relate  to  them.  Other  ques- 
tions may  come  up,  but  they  should  be  reserved  for 
other  lessons  or  else  deferred  until  the  particular  aims 
of  the  lesson  in  hand  have  been  covered. 

It  will  help  pupils  to  keep  to  the  point  it  they  write 
in  their  notebooks  the  questions  or  topics  they  are  to 
consider,  and  then,  as  important  parts  are  brought  out 
in  the  lesson,  they  should  write  these  hi  order  under  the 
proper  question  or  topic.  Sometimes,  when  attention 
lags  or  wanders,  the  teacher  needs  to  call  it  back  by 
asking,  "What  are  we  trying  to  find  out  just  now?" 
or  some  similar  question.  The  pupils  will  learn  pres- 
ently to  criticize  those  who  stray  from  the  subject  at 
hand. 

6.  Too  much  study  of  detail  defeats  the  purpose  of 
the  lesson.  Excessive  study,  even  of  the  concrete,  in 
one  class  period  results  in  hazy  and  confused  impres- 


74  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

sions.  The  observations  should  be  limited  to  compara- 
tively few  facts  and  these  should  be  well  mastered. 

c.  Some  pupils  who  are  less  shy  than  others  fre- 
quently monopolize  much  of  the  time  given  to  an  object 
lesson,  while  the  timid  ones  hesitate  to  ask  questions 
which  they  would  like  to  have  answered,  or  to  place 
themselves  in  a  position  where  they  can  see  well  the 
facts  to  be  observed.  Unless  the  teacher  takes  cogni- 
zance of  this  condition,  part  of  the  class  will  fail  to  reap 
much  benefit  from  the  lesson.   The  opportunities  for 
observation  and  questioning  should  be  distributed  for 
the  benefit  of  the  entire  class. 

d.  Excursions  and  other  similar  lessons  often  afford 
occasions  for  study  by  the  class  and  for  individual 
study  as  well.    Certain  phases  of  the  lesson  are  ob- 
served by  all  pupils,  while  individuals  or  groups  have 
special  assignments  to  work  up  and  report  upon.  In  an 
excursion,  this  necessitates  calling  the  class  together 
from  time  to  time  for  the  study  of  some  points,  and 
then  permitting  the  pupils  to  work  on  their  individual 
problems.  It  requires  the  determination  beforehand  of 
meeting-places,  and  of  signals  to  call  the  class  together. 
It  means,  also,  that  the  pupils  must  understand  clearly 
that  the  excursion  is  not  a  mere  pleasure  outing,  but 
that  it  is  a  lesson  which  requires  obedience,  careful 
work,  and  responsibility  for  results. 

e.  When  the  observations  have  been  made,  the  pu- 
pils should  be  held  accountable  for  the  lesson.   The 
question  or  questions  with  which  the  lesson  started 


STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES      7& 

should  be  answered.  Individual  and  class  study 
should  be  recited  upon  in  the  following  lesson  period. 
A  satisfactory  account  of  what  has  been  seen  or  done 
should  be  given  either  in  oral  or  written  form,  and  the 
main  points  should  be  made  prominent. 

Planning  the  object  lesson 

The  object  lesson  requires  careful  planning  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher.  If  a  geography  class  is  to  have  an 
outdoor  lesson,  the  teacher  should  inspect  the  place 
beforehand,  decide  upon  the  points  to  be  studied,  the 
best  places  for  observation,  the  route  to  be  traversed, 
and  similar  details.  If  it  is  an  experimental  lesson  in 
physics  or  chemistry,  materials  and  apparatus  should 
be  prepared,  and  the  experiment  should  be  rehearsed 
by  the  teacher  to  be  sure  that  everything  is  in  working 
order.  Many  a  lesson  has  been  interrupted  at  a  critical 
point  because  the  instructor  forgot  some  piece  of  appa- 
ratus, or  failed  to  find  out  beforehand  that  the  appara- 
tus or  materials  were  not  in  working  order.  If  the 
lesson  is  the  usual  exercise  in  the  classroom,  the  teacher 
should  be  foresighted  and  prepare  for  it  so  that  when 
the  day  arrives  for  the  lesson  the  materials  may  be  at 
hand  and  ready  for  use. 

Providing  illustrative  material 

The  matter  of  providing  illustrative  material  for 
nature  lessons  has  not  impressed  some  teachers  seri- 
ously. Some  time  ago  the  writer  saw  a  teacher  try- 


76  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

ing  to  give  a  lesson  on  clams  with  only  a  part  of  a 
clam  shell  to  illustrate  the  work.  This  was  in  a  neigh- 
borhood where  clams  may  be  obtained  readily.  An- 
other was  teaching  about  snails  with  no  objects  present 
at  all,  despite  the  facts  that  only  a  few  blocks  away 
there  was  a  pond  where  plenty  of  snails  could  be  found, 
and  that  the  pupils  would  have  been  very  glad  to  col- 
lect some  for  the  lesson.  A  lesson  on  the  canary  bird 
consisted  in  a  desultory  talk  about  the  bird,  which 
arrived  nowhere  in  particular.  No  bird  was  in  evi- 
dence, although  a  question  revealed  the  fact  that  in 
several  of  the  homes  represented  canaries  were  kept  as 
pets,  and  that  the  pupils  could  and  would  bring  the 
birds  to  school  if  they  were  wanted.  Such  lessons  as 
these  just  cited  are  not  really  nature  lessons.  To  fulfill 
their  purpose,  there  should  be  enough  material  at  hand 
for  every  pupil  to  see  the  facts.  In  many  cases  this  will 
mean  a  specimen  for  every  member  of  the  class. 
Sometimes  it  will  mean  but  one  object  for  the  entire 
class.  To  study  the  fly,  spider,  or  mosquito  with  only 
one  specimen  for  a  class  of  fifty  pupils  does  not  meet 
the  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  one  bird,  one  gold- 
fish, or  one  stalk  of  corn  might  suffice  for  a  class. 

In  some  cases  the  pupils  should  provide  the  material 
for  study,  and  this  for  several  reasons.  It  encourages 
the  collecting  instinct,  and  it  connects  the  school  activ- 
ities with  the  outside  world.  Furthermore,  in  obtaining 
the  material  the  pupils  frequently  learn  much  about 
the  specimens  which  they  would  have  missed  other- 


STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES      77 

wise.  The  children  who  look  for  mosquito  larvae  dis- 
cover some  facts  which  are  well  worth  knowing;  and 
the  boy  who  secures  a  full-grown  dandelion  plant  with 
its  entire  root  finds  at  least  one  good  reason  why  the 
plant  is  so  hard  to  exterminate. 

A  word  of  caution,  however,  is  necessary  in  regard  to 
encouraging  pupils  to  obtain  materials  for  school  pur- 
poses. Fine  shade  trees,  the  wild  birds  and  flowers,  and 
private  property  should  all  be  respected.  Pupils  must 
be  taught  to  bear  this  fact  in  mind.  If  wild  flowers  are 
gathered,  the  roots  should  be  spared  for  future  flower- 
ing. Sentiment  and  good  sense  can  be  brought  to  bear 
in  regard  to  what  to  select  and  how  to  treat  it. 

Another  suggestion  about  nature  study  is  that  the 
course  of  study  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  objects 
may  be  studied  in  their  most  favorable  season.  This 
ought  to  be  self-evident  but  experience  shows  that  it  is 
pot  so.  The  mosquito  in  January  and  seed-dispersal 
in  February  are  typical  of  assignments  of  topics  which 
teachers  have  been  known  to  prepare.  If  pets  are  to  be 
brought  to  school,  they  should  be  studied  when  the 
weather  is  not  so  cold  as  to  make  their  visit  to  the 
classroom  dangerous.  Spring  flowers  should  be  as- 
signed to  the  months  when  they  bloom,  and  insect  life 
should  be  observed  when  the  weather  makes  it  possible 
to  obtain  specimens.  Material  obtainable  at  any  sea- 
son may  well  be  given  in  those  months  during  which 
excursions  are  impossible,  and  plant  and  animal  life 
are  difficult  to  observe. 


78  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Summary.  (1)  The  object  lesson  consists  of  the  study  of 
material,  activities,  or  conditions  at  first  hand.  (2)  It  may 
form  a  part  of  the  inductive  lesson,  and  in  any  case  requires 
motivation  and  the  use  of  an  apperceiving  basis.  (3)  The 
observation  should  be  closely  limited  to  the  facts  which  bear 
upon  the  problem  and  all  pupils  should  observe  these  facts. 
Some  pupils  may  have  special  tasks  assigned  to  them.  (4) 
The  class  should  be  held  responsible  for  the  results  of  the 
lesson.  (5)  The  object  lesson  requires  careful  preparation  on 
the  part  of  the  teacher.  (6)  There  should  be  enough  illus- 
trative material  for  all  pupils  to  observe  the  facts  to  be 
taught.  (7)  This  material  may  be  collected  by  teacher  or 
class  according  to  circumstances.  (8)  Plant  and  animal 
forms  and  other  natural  phenomena  should  be  studied  in 
their  most  favorable  season. 

REFERENCES:  W.  W.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  chap,  xvi; 
G.  D.  Strayer,  A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process,  chap.  v. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Show  how  the  study  of  the  apple  blossom  may  form  a  part  of  an 
inductive  lesson.  Of  a  deductive  lesson. 

2.  Make  a  list  of  ten  objects  or  processes  which  may  be  studied 
through  object  lessons.  After  each  one  write  the  motive  which 
you  might  arouse  in  the  minds  of  your  class  for  its  study. 

8.  In  any  object  lesson,  what  facts  would  you  omit? 

4.  What  objection  is  there  to  permitting  a  very  bright  pupil  to  do 
most  of  the  reciting  in  this  type  of  lesson? 

5.  In  the  study  of  interesting  material,  pupils  tend  to  wander  far 
from  the  aim.  Suggest  ways  of  preventing  wandering  without 
dampening  enthusiasm. 

6.  Which  would  you  consider  the  better  object  lesson,  —  one  in 
which  fifty  details  had  been  observed  or  one  in  which  ten  had 
been  considered?  Upon  what  do  you  base  your  judgment? 

7.  Suggest  ways  of  obtaining  enough  material  for  the  object  lesson 
on  the  spider. 

8.  Can  the  study  of  the  picture  of  a  spider  be  classed  as  an  object 
lesson!  Why,  or  why  not? 

0.  Should  pictures  be  used  when  objects  can  be  obtained? 


STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES     79 

10.  Pupils  in  a  certain  city  were  directed  to  bring  specimens  of  tree 
branches  and  leaves  to  class.  They  spoiled  all  the  young  trees 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  school  in  obeying  the  order.   How 
may  such  damage  be  avoided  and  material  still  be  obtained? 

11.  What  advantage  has  the  study  of  objects  and  processes  directly 
over  learning  about  them  in  any  other  way? 

12.  Select  some  manufacturing  plant  or  other  place  of  industry  in 
your  neighborhood,  tell  what  you  would  expect  the  entire  class 
to  observe  during  a  visit,  and  designate  what  you  would  assign 
to  individual  pupils  for  study. 

13.  What  geographical  facts  may  be  gained  by  observation  in  your 
community? 

14.  What  historical  features  may  be  thus  studied? 

15.  What  civic  activities  may  be  observed? 

16.  Prepare  a  list  of  the  industries  of  your  community.  Which  of 
these  might  be  studied  by  direct  observation? 

17.  What  art  collections,  collections  of  historical  objects,  or  collec- 
tions of  natural  objects  does  your  community  possess?  To  what 
extent  can  the  schools  make  use  of  them? 

18.  What  cautions  should  a  teacher  observe  in  the  use  of  the  object 
lesson? 


vm 

THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS 

The  purpose  of  the  assignment 

THE  lesson  assignment  is  that  form  of  teaching 
which  prepares  pupils  for  work  outside  of  the  class 
period,  or  when  lessons  must  be  prepared  without  the 
teacher's  direct  assistance.  It  may  be  that  the  lessons 
are  to  be  studied  at  school,  or  worked  up  at  home  or  in 
the  library,  or  somewhere  else  outside  of  the  classroom. 
Wherever  they  are  prepared,  the  pupils  are  supposed  to 
be  following  directions  imparted  to  them  in  some  as- 
signment exercise.  This  assignment  must  indicate  the 
work  to  be  done,  and  frequently,  one  might  say,  usu- 
ally, should  take  account  of  the  special  difficulties  to 
be  met  and  the  best  means  of  studying  the  particular 
lesson  assigned. 

Kinds  of  lessons  which  may  involve  assignment 

The  assignment  is  sometimes  treated  in  lectures  and 
textbooks  as  if  it  prepared  for  textbook  study  only. 
This  is  too  narrow  a  view  to  take  of  the  exercise.  It 
prepares  for  any  work  to  be  done  by  the  pupils  inde- 
pendently; that  is,  without  the  teacher  at  hand  to  sup- 
ervise and  direct  every  step  taken.  The  task  assigned 
may  be  the  acquiring  of  knowledge  from  some  source, 


THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS  81 

whether  from  books,  people,  observation,  or  reflection. 
It  may  be  the  collection  of  materials  for  an  object  les- 
son. It  may  be  the  application  of  principles,  as  in  ge- 
ometry, arithmetic,  or  grammar.  It  may  be  a  private 
drill  exercise  in  spelling,  multiplication  tables,  penman- 
ship, oral  reading,  music,  or  sewing,  or  some  other  sub- 
ject which  requires  practice  to  insure  skill.  It  may  be 
the  performing  of  certain  exercises  to  correct  physical 
defects  or  to  assist  physical  development,  as  bending, 
stretching,  and  drawing  deep  breaths.  Any  teaching 
which  involves  work  outside  of  the  class  period  must 
evidently  require  an  assignment;  hence  to  limit  the 
discussion  to  textbook  lessons  is  to  treat  the  subject 
too  narrowly.  The  assignment  may  be  a  part  of  an 
inductive  or  deductive  exercise,  an  object  lesson,  a 
drill  lesson,  a  review  lesson,  or  any  form  of  class  exer- 
cise which  conforms  to  the  conditions  above  stated. 

When  the  assignment  should  be  made 

If  the  work  to  be  prepared  by  the  class  grows  out  of, 
and  depends  upon,  the  preceding  class  exercise  or  les- 
son, then  the  assignment  may  properly  and  profitably 
be  made  at  the  close  of  that  lesson.  If,  however,  the 
work  is  not  dependent  upon  that  lesson,  the  assign- 
ment may  be  made  either  at  the  beginning  or  at  the 
end.  The  new  exercise  in  literature  may  not  depend 
upon  the  one  which  immediately  precedes  it;  conse- 
quently, the  teacher  may  choose  whether  to  assign 
the  following  lesson  before  the  recitation  on  the  one 


82  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

at  hand,  or  to  complete  the  latter  and  then  devote  the 
necessary  time  to  assigning  the  new  exercise.  The  dan- 
ger of  delay  is  that  the  time  often  passes  more  rapidly 
than  the  teacher  is  aware,  and  the  assignment  is  there- 
fore too  meager  and  indefinite  for  the  good  of  the  class. 

It  frequently  happens  that  the  questions  which  con- 
stitute the  problems  to  be  solved  in  the  new  lesson  are 
raised  during  the  course  of  some  lesson  a  day  or  more 
in  advance  of  the  period  when  the  subject  is  to  be  dis- 
cussed in  class.  When  not  too  remote  from  the  day  of 
recitation,  it  is  worth  while  to  make  the  assignment 
when  the  questions  are  raised,  even  if  it  interrupt  the 
lesson  for  a  few  minutes.  The  motive  is  in  the  proper 
setting  then,  and  the  new  lesson  will  be  all  the  better 
prepared  on  that  account.  If  the  assignment  keeps  thus 
cropping  out  during  the  course  of  an  exercise  or  several 
exercises,  there  should  be  a  definite  restatement  of  it  as 
a  whole  before  the  study  period,  so  that  all  pupils  may 
know  just  what  they  are  to  do  and  how  they  are  to  do  it. 

One  cannot  make  a  hard-and-fast  rule  about  the 
time  of  the  assignment,  since  it  depends  upon  condi- 
tions which  vary.  However,  the  teacher  should  choose 
the  tune  thoughtfully  and  not  leave  it  to  the  mercy  of 
chance  or  habit. 

What  the  assignment  should  do  specifically  for  the 
class  in  regard  to  subject-matter 

As  the  assignment  may  be  involved  in  any  form  of 
teaching  exercises  which  require  independent  efforts  to 


THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS  83 

extend  knowledge,  —  such  as  the  inductive  lesson,  and 
the  deductive  lesson,  —  it  partakes  of  their  technique. 
Certain  features  of  these  types  of  teaching  are  feat- 
ures, also,  of  the  assignment.  It  must  bring  to  con- 
sciousness the  problems  to  be  solved,  and  the  condi- 
tions to  be  met  in  the  period  of  independent  work.  If 
it  should  fail  to  do  so,  the  preparation  by  the  pupil  will 
consist  probably  of  memorizing  the  text  or  of  indefinite 
work  in  other  directions.  Undirected  effort  is  random 
effort,  and  without  an  aim  or  motive  such  effort  is  the 
only  kind  the  pupil  is  likely  to  expend.  It  may  be  that 
the  assignment  involves  observation,  experimentation, 
reading,  talking  with  others,  or  reflecting  upon  a  situ- 
ation and  working  out  a  chain  of  reasoning,  either  in- 
ductively or  deductively.  It  may  involve  the  steps  of 
comparison  and  generalization,  or  it  may  demand  the 
application  of  rules  and  principles.  Whatever  the 
effort  involved  may  be,  the  motive  which  is  to  call  it 
forth  must  be  made  clear  in  the  assignment.  The  as- 
signment may  thus  at  times  coincide  with  the  step  of 
preparation,  since  it  includes  the  raising  of  a  ques- 
tion or  problem,  and  when  necessary  the  recall  of 
the  ideas  upon  which  the  understanding  of  the  knowl- 
edge to  be  gained  by  the  pupils  must  rest.  Thus, 
in  assigning  an  advance  lesson  in  geometry,  the 
teacher  not  only  leads  the  class  to  see  clearly  what 
is  to  be  done,  but  helps  the  students  to  see  what  part 
of  their  previous  knowledge  bears  upon  the  solu- 
tion. Seeing  the  question  plainly  and  knowing  where 


84  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

help  lies,  the  pupils  are  prepared  for  independent 
work. 

A  teacher  of  mathematics  in  one  of  our  best-known 
normal  schools  taught  geometry  for  many  years  with 
marked  success  without  using  a  textbook  in  class. 
Textbooks  were  absolutely  forbidden,  as  were  the  note- 
books of  previous  classes  and  all  other  helps.  The 
assignments  were  models  of  definiteness.  The  problems 
were  stated  so  that  no  one  could  fail  to  know  what  he 
was  to  do.  Then  the  axioms  and  previous  demonstra- 
tions which  seemed  to  bear  upon  the  new  problem  were 
recalled  and  scanned  with  critical  mind  to  see  if  they 
offered  the  necessary  basis.  When  the  class  was  on  the 
right  track,  the  assignment  ended. 

Many  pupils  fail  in  preparation  largely  because  these 
two  features  of  the  assignment  are  not  observed  fully; 
namely,  defining  clearly  the  thing  to  be  done,  and  re- 
calling the  old  ideas  which  explain  the  new. 

It  sometimes  is  the  case  that  the  subject-matter 
assigned  for  study  from  books  contains  technical  diffi- 
culties in  the  form  of  new  words  used  in  an  unusual 
way  or  of  difficult  grammatical  constructions;  or  the 
difficulty  may  lie  in  the  obscurity  of  the  author's 
meaning.  A  young  pupil  who,  in  preparing  a  reading 
lesson,  must  struggle  with  the  pronunciation  and 
meaning  of  a  number  of  words  is  greatly  handicapped. 
These  difficulties  should  be  anticipated  in  the  assign- 
ment and  the  path  made  clear.  Even  older  pupils  who 
are  reading  such  classics  as  Merchant  of  Venice  or  Lady 


THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS  85 

of  the  Lake  will  need  the  same  kind  of  assistance.  Those 
who  have  tried  to  teach  literature,  mathematics,  or 
grammar  to  pupils  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  elemen- 
tary schools,  or  in  the  high  schools,  are  well  aware  thai 
even  a  little  variation  from  the  sentence  constructions 
to  which  pupils  are  accustomed  is  sufficient  to  keep 
them  from  getting  the  meaning.  Only  recently  a  young 
girl  read  the  line,  "The  muster  place  be  Lanrick  Mead," 
as  "The  mustard  place  be,  Lanrick,  Mead."  A  new 
word  and  a  slight  variation  in  form  were  too  much  for 
her  to  comprehend.  Those  who  teach  foreign  languages 
find  it  particularly  necessary,  in  the  assignment  of  a 
new  lesson,  to  call  attention  to  the  new  or  rare  forms 
of  words  or  sentences  so  that  there  may  be  understand- 
ing without  the  expenditure  of  too  much  time.  The 
pupils  are  to  do  a  certain  amount  of  work  within  cer- 
tain time  limits.  They  need  enough  assistance  in  the 
assignment  to  enable  them  to  meet  these  conditions 
with  good,  faithful  effort  on  their  part. 

How  the  assignment  should  help  with  methods  of 
study 

In  their  efforts  to  keep  their  pupils  from  simply  mem- 
orizing a  textbook  lesson,  teachers  sometimes  tell  them 
to  prepare  to  give  the  thought  in  their  own  words. 
Sometimes  they  go  a  step  farther  and  give  a  list  of 
questions  the  answers  to  which  the  pupils  are  to  find 
during  their  study  period.  A  still  more  advanced  stage 
of  procedure  is  the  preparation  of  a  topical  outline  by 


86  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

the  teacher  upon  which  the  pupils  are  to  recite  after 
they  have  studied  the  lesson.  When  the  pupils  have 
had  practice  in  independent  work,  the  assignment 
may  include  directions  for  them  to  prepare  a  list  of 
questions  covered  by  the  lesson  they  are  to  study,  said 
questions  to  be  brought  to  class  to  be  answered  by 
classmates;  or,  they  may  be  required  to  prepare  their 
own  topical  outline  according  to  which  they  will 
make  their  recitation.  Such  assignments  prevent  or 
break  up  the  habit  of  memorizing  the  text  and  compel 
the  selection  and  arrangement  of  the  most  important 
points  studied. 

Need  of  indicating  sources  of  data  in  the  assignment 

In  some  study  periods,  the  pupils  must  find  data 
from  other  sources  than  the  textbook.  A  lesson  as- 
signed to  a  primary  class  in  New  York  City  involved 
finding  out  where  the  parks  of  that  city  are  and  what 
these  parks  offer  that  is  instructive  and  entertaining. 
"Where  will  you  go  to  find  out?"  asked  the  teacher. 
After  thinking  about  the  question,  the  children  con- 
cluded they  could  find  out  from  the  wall  map  where 
the  parks  are,  and  could  ask  at  home  about  the  answer 
to  the  other  question.  Similarly,  in  an  eighth  grade,  the 
pupils  who  were  going  to  make  an  independent  study 
of  the  continent  of  Africa  reflected  about  sources  for 
a  time  and  decided  upon  certain  atlases,  textbooks, 
books  of  travel,  and  other  sources.  The  teacher  then 
added  to  the  list  of  references.  The  result  of  such  pro- 


THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS  87 

cedure  is  that  the  pupils  can  go  to  work  at  once  with- 
out losing  time  in  deciding  about  sources,  and  that 
they  will  be  likely  to  use  the  best  sources,  since  they 
help  one  another  by  their  suggestions  during  the  as- 
signment, and  the  teacher  has  an  opportunity  to  cor- 
rect and  supplement  their  list. 

Class  and  individual  assignments 

The  two  assignments  just  cited  contained  another 
feature  which  it  is  often  advisable  to  employ.  There 
were  too  many  parks  for  all  to  study,  so  different  parks 
were  assigned  to  individual  pupils  for  investigation. 
A  similar  arrangement  was  made  in  the  assignment  of 
work  about  Africa.  Certain  reference  books  and  cer- 
tain topics  were  assigned  to  groups  of  pupils  who  were 
to  make  their  topical  outlines  and  report.  Such  assign- 
ments give  worth  and  interest  to  the  work  of  individual 
pupils  or  groups  and  usually  result  in  greater  effort, 
since  the  class  is  to  learn  some  definite  fact  or  facts 
through  the  reports  made.  Furthermore,  hi  this  way, 
more  ground  can  be  covered  than  when  every  pupil  is 
required  to  study  every  fact  for  himself.  We  live  in  an 
age  of  investigation  and  of  committees,  and  we  may 
well  utilize  the  plan  in  school,  profit  by  it  in  our  work, 
and  give  the  pupils  training  in  its  employment.  Of 
course,  there  will  usually  be  some  parts  of  the  lesson 
which  must  be  studied  by  all  pupils  in  the  class,  and  at 
times  all  pupils  must  study  the  entire  assignment. 


88  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Page  assignments 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  such  assignments  as 
have  been  here  discussed  are  very  different  from  the 
assignment  of  a  certain  number  of  pages  with  no 
accompanying  suggestions.  When  a  page  assignment, 
or  the  designation  of  a  certain  amount  of  ground  in  a 
book  to  be  prepared,  means  nothing  more  than  memor- 
izing, or  trying  to  say  the  lesson  in  one's  own  words,  it 
is  inadequate.  When  pupils  know  how  to  study  as  they 
should  independently,  then  it  is  not  out  of  place  to 
make  such  assignments.  Students  then  know  what  to 
do  with  them  and  should  be  required  to  make  the  right 
kind  of  preparation. 

The  assignment  book  and  clear  assignments 

It  is  the  frequent  experience  of  principals  of  schools 
that  parents  complain  of  the  indefinite  assignments  of 
home  work  or  the  lack  of  any  assignment.  Children  say 
they  have  nothing  to  do,  or  else  that  they  did  not  un- 
derstand what  was  to  be  done.  It  is  doubtless  true  that 
these  statements  are  sometimes  mere  fabrications;  on 
the  other  hand,  they  are  frequently  justified.  Some- 
times the  assignment  lacks  clearness  or  is  made  so 
hastily  that  the  pupils  fail  to  grasp  it.  Then,  too, 
pupils  forget  by  the  time  the  study  period  arrives  what 
is  to  be  done,  and  also  the  details  of  their  task.  To 
avoid  all  these  conditions,  assignment  books  are  advis- 
able. In  these  may  be  written  the  ground  to  be  cov- 
ered,  the  suggestions  as  to  method,  and  the  other 


THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS  89 

facts  necessary  to  the  successful  preparation  of  the 
lesson. 

These  books  should  be  written  up  at  the  time  of  the 
assignment,  and  two  or  three  pupils  should  be  asked  to 
read  what  they  have  written.  This  will  insure  definite- 
ness,  and  it  leaves  no  excuse  for  the  pupil  who  is  in- 
clined to  shirk  by  pleading  ignorance  of  what  is  to  be 
done.  The  use  of  such  a  book  reflects  itself  in  the 
teacher's  method  of  giving  out  lessons.  She  must  take 
time  for  a  full  assignment,  arrange  it  carefully,  and 
word  it  clearly.  This  is  good  both  for  teacher  and  class. 

Effect  of  proper  assignment  upon  interest  and  effort  of 
pupils 

A  great  advantage  of  the  assignment  which  sends  the 
pupils  to  their  study  with  a  motive  or  problem  is  that 
it  affects  the  attitude  of  the  class  toward  the  lesson. 
There  is  an  opportunity  to  arouse  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject and  a  genuine  desire  to  perform  the  work  for  the 
sake  of  the  results  it  will  bring,  —  not  hi  percentages 
and  class  standing,  but  in  knowledge  and  skill.  The 
pupils  who  begin  the  study  of  Japan  with  the  idea  of 
finding  out  how  it  was  able  to  defeat  a  great  nation  like 
Russia;  or  who  attempt  to  discover  why  a  handful  of 
English  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America 
were  able  to  wrest  supremacy  in  the  continent  from  a 
great  military  power  like  France;  or  who  go  to  their 
work  with  the  questions,  What  need  does  the  State 
have  of  money?  and,  How  does  it  provide  its  funds?  — 


90  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

are  much  more  likely  to  be  interested  and  to  expend 
sffort  than  if  no  such  motives  for  work  are  brought 
before  them.  If  these  questions  are  asked  by  pupils, 
which  is  quite  possible,  they  must  of  necessity  grow 
out  of  some  class  discussion  or  the  consideration  of 
some  facts  which  have  aroused  curiosity,  —  a  prolific 
source  of  problems  and  a  guaranty  of  interest.  With 
the  question  raised,  there  is  the  possibility  of  having 
suggestions  as  to  causes.  These  suggestions,  or  hy- 
potheses, constitute  part  of  the  assignment,  as  they 
must  be  investigated  to  see  whether  they  are  true  and 
whether  they  solve  the  problem. 

The  effect  of  studying  because  of  motive  and  interest 
has  been  expressed  by  the  eighth-grade  boy,  whose 
teacher  conducted  her  school  on  this  plan,  who  said,  "I 
never  worked  so  hard  before  in  my  lif e,  and  I  never  had 
so  good  a  time  as  this  year  " ;  and  by  a  teacher  who  said 
"This  plan  of  having  the  pupils  study  for  a  purpose 
takes  the  grouch  out  of  school  work."  If  a  teacher  will 
try,  even  though  clumsily,  to  raise  questions  or  to 
bring  up  a  situation  which  causes  the  pupils  to  ask 
questions,  he  will  be  surprised  at  the  immediate  effect 
upon  the  class.  Interest  and  activity  are  at  once  appar- 
ent and  are  manifested  by  the  entire  class,  almost 
without  exception.  This  has  been  demonstrated  so 
often,  even  in  classes  conducted  by  inexperienced 
teachers,  that  it  seems  inexcusable  to  neglect  so  ready 
a  means  of  securing  a  favorable  attitude  toward  school 
work. 


THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS  91 

Summary.  (1)  The  purpose  of  the  lesson  assignment  is  to 
prepare  pupils  fcr  the  independent  study  of  a  lesson.  (2) 
The  assignment  may  occur  in  connection  with  any  lesson 
which  requires  such  study.  (3)  It  may  be  made  during  any 
part  of  a  class  period,  being  determined  at  times  by  its  rela- 
tion to  the  preceding  recitations.  (4)  It  should  develop  or 
bring  to  mind  the  end  to  be  accomplished,  whether  increase 
of  knowledge,  skill,  or  physical  well-being ;  and  should  prepare 
for  the  obstacles  to  be  met.  (5)  It  should,  when  necessary, 
bring  to  mind  the  method  of  working,  and  determine  sources 
of  material.  (6)  It  may  consist  of  class  or  individual  assign- 
ments, or  both.  (7)  The  assignment  of  a  lesson  in  the  mere 
form  of  amount  to  be  done,  should  not  be  employed  until 
pupils  have  learned  to  study  as  they  should  without  further 
direction.  (8)  The  use  of  an  assignment  book  is  helpful  for 
immature  pupils.  (9)  The  interest  of  pupils,  the  right  emo- 
tional attitude  toward  the  lesson  to  be  studied  should  be 
aroused. 

REFERENCES:  T.  H.  Briggs  and  L.  D.  Coffman,  Reading  in 
Public  Schools,  chap,  xxv;  W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process, 
chap,  xxi ;  L.  B.  Earhart,  Teaching  Children  to  Study,  chap.  vin. 

EXERCISES 

1.  A  teacher  once  assigned  this  lesson  to  a  fifth-grade  class  in  geog- 
raphy. "For  to-morrow,  find  out  at  home  all  about  the  exports 
and  imports  of  the  United  States."   Criticize  the  assignment. 

2.  In  your  own  experience  as  a  pupil,  did  the  lesson  assignments 
err  on  the  side  of  doing  too  much  for  pupils  or  of  not  doing 
enough  to  enable  them  to  prepare  the  new  lesson  as  they 
should? 

3.  When  does  an  assignment  do  too  much? 

4.  When  does  it  not  do  enough? 

5.  Plan  an  assignment  for  a  drill  lesson  in  spelling. 

6.  Indicate  an  assignment  in  connection  with  a  deductive  lesson  in 
interest,  that  is,  a  lesson  in  which  the  rules  are  already  known. 

7.  When  may  an  assignment  be  made  at  the  beginning  of  a  lesson 
period?  When  must  it  be  made  at  the  close  of  a  period?  Give  an 
instance  of  its  occurence  during  a  lesson. 


98  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

8.  Criticize  such  an  assignment  as,  "Take  the  next  four  para- 
graphs." Is  such  an  assignment  ever  justified.  Explain. 

9.  Explain  what  you  think  a  good  assignment  should  include. 

10.  How  much  should  a  teacher  consider  in  the  assignment  of  a  new 
lesson  the  attitude  of  the  class  toward  the  lesson?  What  relation 
is  there  between  attitude  and  lesson  preparation? 

11.  What  would  you  expect  pupils  to  do  ultimately  in  the  way  of 
planning  their  own  lesson  assignments. 

12.  What  advantages  are  there  in  assigning  special  work  to  certain 
individuals  which  they  will  later  report  upon  to  the  class? 
Should  such  assignments  be  made  to  the  very  bright  or  the  very 
slow  pupils?  Justify  your  answer. 

13.  How  may  maximum  and  minimum  assignments  be  employed  ;  o 
as  to  meet  the  individual  differences  in  a  class? 

14.  How  would  it  affect  the  work  in  arithmetic  to  have  the  pupils 
estimate  approximately  what  the  answers  are  before  beginning 
the  solution  of  problems? 

15.  What  would  be  the  effect  upon  time,  energy  and  results  if  the 
teacher  during  the  assignment  were  to  explain  the  form  of  study 
to  be  employed  and  were  to  give  the  pupils  some  preliminary 
practice  in  the  use  of  a  new  method? 

16.  Suppose  a  teacher  repeatedly  makes  assignments  which  are 
never  called  for  in  class.  How  will  this  fact  affect  the  prepara- 
tion of  lessons?  * 

17.  If  a  teacher,  regardless  of  the  kind  of  assignments  made,  always 
calls  for  a  verbatim  recitation  of _the  text,  how  will  the  pupils  pre- 
pare their  lessons? 


IX 

THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE 

What  the  recitation  is 

THAT  type  of  teaching  exercise  in  which  the  pupils 
report  the  results  of  their  study  and  investigations  is 
called  the  recitation.  The  subject-matter  thus  given 
may  receive  further  treatment  during  the  class  exer- 
cise, but  the  basic  feature  of  the  lesson  period  is  the  ren- 
dering of  prepared  work  in  some  form  by  the  pupils. 

What  material  may  constitute  its  subject-matter 

As  the  subject-matter  which  is  assigned  to  pupils 
and  studied  by  them  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
knowledge  covers  a  wide  range  of  material,  we  may 
expect  the  recitation  to  cover  an  equally  wide  range. 
The  pupils  may  report  upon  as  many  kinds  of  material 
as  can  be  assigned  or  studied  in  order  to  discover  facts 
about  them.  Tasks  assigned  for  the  sake  of  increasing 
skill  or  forming  habits  would  not  form  the  basis  of  a 
recitation  lesson,  since  they  have  not  for  their  aim  the 
learning  of  new  facts.  They  are  drill  exercises.  Thus, 
pupils  may  recite  upon  a  lesson  from  a  textbook  or  ref- 
erence book  of  some  kind.  This  is  a  very  common  class 
exercise.  They  may  give  the  results  of  observations  or 
experiments  which  have  been  made  in  the  study  period. 


94  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Such  recitations  should  frequently  accompany  the 
work  in  science,  in  geography,  and  hi  nature  study, 
and  should  also  be  a  part  of  the  art  study  which  sets 
pupils  to  looking  for  the  artistic  features  in  their  sur- 
roundings. The  information  gained  by  inquiries  made 
among  people  outside  of  school  is  a  contribution  to  the 
recitation  lesson.  The  children  of  immigrants,  who 
question  at  home  about  living  conditions  in  the  coun- 
tries from  which  their  parents  came,  often  have  valu- 
able material  to  bring  to  class;  as  have  also  the  pupils 
who  inquire  about  the  nature  of  business  transactions. 
From  many  sources,  whether  people,  books,  papers, 
periodicals,  or  the  pupils'  own  experiences  and  obser- 
vations, information  may  be  obtained  which  bears 
upon  the  problem  raised  in  the  assignment,  and  which 
may  be  brought  to  class  for  use  there. 

Forms  of  the  recitation  lesson 

a.  Verbatim  reproduction  of  matter  read.  Pupils 
who  lack  training  in  the  better  forms  of  recitation  work 
usually  try  to  give  the  results  of  the  study  of  a  lesson 
from  a  book  in  verbatim  forms.  They  know  no  other 
way.  It  has  been  the  writer's  frequent  experience  with 
classes  of  adults,  that  many  teachers  who  have  taught 
for  several  years  are  lacking  practice  and  skill  in  any 
other  form  of  recitation  than  giving  the  book  word  for 
word,  and  are  helpless  and  distrustful  of  their  own 
ability  when  urged  to  try  a  different  method.  They 
will  admit  that  a  reproduction  of  words  in  a  sequence 


THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE  95 

does  not  guarantee  understanding,  but  understanding 
may  not  have  been  required  when  they  learned  the 
habit  of  verbatim  reproduction.  They  in  their  turn  are 
not  making  sure  that  their  pupils  have  gained  in 
thought  when  they  permit  or  require  them  to  reciU 
the  text  in  this  way  and  let  the  lesson  end  with  it.  II 
books  contained  all  that  the  pupil  should  learn  of  a 
subject,  if  they  were  correct  in  statement  beyond  all 
doubt,  and  if  the  act  of  memorizing  were  at  the  same 
time  the  process  of  understanding,  then  rote  recita- 
tions might  be  accepted  as  satisfying  the  needs  of  a 
given  situation.  But  since  these  conditions  do  not 
exist,  then  some  other  form  of  reporting  work  should 
be  adopted. 

6.  Unorganized  account  of  reading,  observation,  ex- 
periment, or  other  investigation.  It  is  an  improvement 
upon  the  type  of  recitation  just  discussed  to  have  the 
pupils  give  the  thought  in  their  own  words,  but  if 
nothing  further  be  done  in  the  period  devoted  to 
the  exercise,  but  little  of  value  has  resulted  to  the 
pupils. 

When  facts  gained  from  some  other  source  than 
books  or  periodicals  are  reported  in  class,  there  is  often 
a  lack  of  coherence  and  clearness  in  the  pupils'  efforts, 
and  to  the  extent  that  this  is  true  the  reports  lack 
value.  There  is  little  or  no  arrangement  of  items  in 
orderly  sequence,  and  the  ideas  in  regard  to  one  topic 
are  not  grouped  together.  Pupils  rush  into  their  re- 
ports at  almost  any  point  and  give  facts  in  an  indis- 


96  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

criminate  order.  Evidently  the  most  helpful  recitation 
should  be  different  from  this  type. 

c.  Topical  recitation.  A  good  recitation  should  show 
some  degree  of  mastery  of  the  material  gained,  what- 
ever its  source.  There  should  be  evidence  of  control  of 
the  subject  studied.  There  must,  then,  be  an  order  in 
the  presentation  of  results  by  the  pupils  to  the  class. 
This  order  is  secured  by  the  arrangement  of  the  facts 
in  the  form  of  an  outline  or  synopsis.  If  a  class  in 
history  has  studied  Burgoyne's  invasion,  the  pupils 
should  recite  according  to  an  outline  of  topics  which 
they  have  prepared  during  their  study.  If  their  prob- 
lem was  to  find  "  How  an  attempt  was  made  to  defeat 
the  colonies  by  separating  them  and  what  came  of  the 
attempt,"  they  might  take  that  as  their  heading  and 
arrange  the  following  list  of  topics:  — 

1.  The  threefold  plan  to  defeat  the  colonies, 
a.  The  movement  up  the  Hudson. 

6.  The  movement  down  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk. 
c.  The  movement  down  the  Hudson. 

2.  The  fate  of  the  Mohawk  valley  expedition. 

3.  Why  the  British  in  New  York  failed  in  their  plan. 

4.  The  difficulties  encountered  by  Burgoyne. 

5.  The  outcome  of  the  plan  to  conquer  the  colonies  by  sep- 
arating them. 

With  such  an  outline  in  hand,  a  pupil  should  be  able 
to  stand  before  the  class  and  give  a  coherent  account 
of  the  lesson  studied.  Thus  two  good  ends  are  ac- 
complished by  the  topical  recitation;  first,  pupils  learn 
to  sift  out  the  essential  facts  in  a  lesson  and  arrange 


THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE  97 

them  in  a  good  order  for  presentation;  and,  second, 
they  learn  to  recite  independently,  clearly,  and  force- 
fully. They  learn  to  hold  points  in  mind  and  to  follow 
them.  This  is  not  an  ideal  too  difficult  for  elementary- 
school  pupils  to  accomplish,  as  has  been  demonstrated 
by  numerous  classes  of  children  from  the  third  and 
fourth  grades  up.  Eighth-grade  pupils  can  prepare 
outlines  and  give  recitations  upon  them  which  are  far 
in  advance  of  what  adult  classes  frequently  render. 
They  only  require  to  be  given  some  training  in  pre- 
paring outlines  and  in  making  full  and  clear  recitations 
according  to  them,  and  then  to  be  held  to  this  form  of 
work  consistently.  They  will  prepare  for  what  they 
know  the  teacher  will  require  in  class. 

d.  Question-and-answer  recitation.  Classes  of  ques- 
tions. Teachers  frequently  resort  to  questioning  in 
order  to  bring  out  in  class  the  results  of  the  pupils' 
study.  Sometimes  the  whole  recitation  period  consists 
of  a  rapid  fire  of  questions  of  narrow  scope,  and  of 
answers  which  are  equally  limited.  "What  is  the  capi- 
tal of  Minnesota?"  "In  what  part  of  the  State  is  it 
located?"  "On  what  river  is  it  situated?"  "When  was 
itfounded?"  "Bywhom?"  "What  are  its  industries?" 
"What  is  its  latitude?"  This  list  of  questions  is  typi- 
cal of  many  recitation  exercises.  Such  procedure  is 
time-consuming,  fails  to  bring  the  subject-matter  be- 
fore the  class  in  connected  units,  and  neglects  abso- 
lutely the  training  of  pupils  in  habits  of  systematic 
study  and  recitation.  Probably  few  recitation  periods 


98  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

will  pass  without  some  questions  being  asked,  but 
these  should  be  radically  different  from  the  examples 
just  given. 

In  preparing  for  a  recitation  exercise  a  teacher  needs 
not  only  to  decide  about  the  subject-matter  to  be  cov- 
ered, but  he  needs  to  plan  for  the  main  questions  to  be 
asked  in  case  the  recitation  is  to  be  conducted  on  the 
question-and-answer  plan.  He  should  determine  what 
are  the  principal  divisions  of  the  subject,  and  what  the 
corresponding  questions  are  which  will  require  the 
pupils  in  answering  to  cover  these  sections,  a  section 
to  a  question  if  possible.  Practice  in  writing  out  a  list 
of  main  questions  will  usually  increase  skill  quickly. 

In  addition  to  making  the  questions  cover  large 
rather  than  minute  units  of  work,  the  teacher  should 
strive  to  avoid  so  wording  them  that  a  plain  clue  to  the 
answer  is  given;  that  is,  the  question  should  not  reveal 
the  answer.  The  answer  is  indicated  sometimes 
through  being  included  in  the  question;  as,  "It  was 
very  wrong  of  Benedict  Arnold  to  attempt  to  betray 
his  country,  was  it  not?"  It  is  sometimes  indicated 
by  framing  the  question  practically  in  the  words  of  the 
book,  so  that  the  pupils  have  a  direct  clue  if  they  have 
good  verbal  memories  and  can  recall  what  the  rest  of 
the  sentence  in  the  textbook  was.  If  the  answer  can 
be  called  for  in  such  a  way  as  to  require  the  changing 
of  the  book  form,  a  surer  mastery  results.  If  the 
teacher  asks,  "What  are  some  of  the  difficulties  in 
obtaining  the  world's  supply  of  gold?"  or  "Why  is  St. 


THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE  99 

Paul,  Minnesota,  an  important  city?"  or  "Would 
St.  Paul  be  a  good  city  to  go  to  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
gaging in  business?" — rote  answers  become  impossi- 
ble and  the  thoughtful  selection  of  facts  in  their  proper 
relation  becomes  necessary.  Usually,  it  is  better  not 
to  give  a  choice  of  answers  through  the  question,  as 
such  questions  limit  the  thought.  To  ask,  "How  did 
the  delay  in  capturing  Philadelphia  affect  the  British 
plans  for  the  campaign  of  1777?"  requires  better 
effort  than  to  ask,  "After  the  capture  of  Philadelphia, 
did  the  British  commander  remain  there  or  did  he  go 
back  to  New  York?" 

Pupils  sometimes  experience  difficulty  in  answering 
because  they  do  not  understand  the  question.  It  is 
a  difficult  matter  to  prepare  a  list  of  questions  for  a 
class  so  that  all  pupils  will  interpret  them  as  the 
teacher  intends.  There  is  need  of  inspection  to  see  that 
they  are  simple  and  clear,  that  they  are  easy  enough 
for  the  pupils  to  understand,  and  that  they  lead  to 
the  answer  the  teacher  has  in  mind. 

We  have  been  told  by  some  writers  that  the  direct 
question,  the  question  which  can  be  answered  by  yes 
or  no,  is  to  be  avoided.  As  a  rule  it  is  not  the  best  type 
of  question,  since  it  often  does  the  work  for  the  class 
and  simply  requires  a  nod  or  a  shake  of  the  head  in  an- 
swer. There  are  times,  however,  when  a  direct  question 
is  provocative  of  good  effort.  "Is  it  a  good  plan  for  a 
new  administration  to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  office- 
holders in  the  civil  service?"  is  a  question  which  may 


100  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

result  in  most  fruitful  activity  on  the  part  of  the  class. 
At  times  a  pupil  who  is  attempting  to  avoid  an  issue 
without  revealing  his  ignorance  needs  to  face  squarely 
the  question,  "Is  this  thing  true  or  not?"  Such  a 
question  is  one  which  will  arise  during  the  recita- 
tion period  and  does  not  involve  preparation  by  the 

teacher. 

t 

There  are  other  charactersitics  of  good  questions 
which  are  worth  striving  for.  Some  of  these  are  as  fol- 
lows: (1)  Questions  should  call  up  associated  facts. 
(2)  They  should  not  be  ends  in  themselves,  but  should 
carry  the  thought  forward.  (3)  They  should  not  be  so 
indefinite  as  to  permit  of  guesswork.  (4)  They  should 
be  interrogative  in  form,  not  declarative  in  all  but  the 
final  word.  (5)  They  should  bring  out  the  subject- 
matter  in  the  order  of  dependence,  or  logical  relation- 
ship, if  such  exists. 

The  questions  should  as  a  rule  arouse  activity  in  all 
the  class;  hence  they  should  be  directed  to  the  entire 
class  rather  than  to  an  individual  in  the  class.  This 
plan  precludes  naming  beforehand  the  pupil  who  is 
to  answer  the  question;  also  asking  questions  in  turn, 
so  that  pupils  not  near  to  the  center  of  activity  can 
become  inattentive. 

Two  cautions  which  many  teachers  need  are,  first 
not  to  repeat  a  question  unless  it  is  quite  certain  that 
the  class  does  not  understand  it;  and,  second,  not  to 
repeat  the  answer  of  the  pupil.  The  first  may  be  un- 
necessary and  leads  to  inattention.  The  second  leads 


THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE  101 

to  slovenly  work  on  the  part  of  the  pupils.  Both  cause 
a  loss  of  time. 

The  amplification  and  correction  of  data  collected 
by  the  pupils.  New  questions  raised.  Value  of 
books  determined 

If  the  recitation  exercise  consists  solely  in  giving  a 
topical  recitation  of  the  facts  gleaned  from  a  common 
source  by  all  of  the  class,  whether  the  topics  be  given 
by  the  teacher  or  prepared  by  the  pupils,  or  if  nothing 
more  is  done  than  to  have  the  pupils  state  these  facts 
in  answer  to  the  teacher's  questions,  only  part  of  the 
value  of  the  period  is  realized.  An  author's  presenta- 
tion of  a  subject  is  often  incomplete,  and  may  be,  at 
times,  misleading.  It  may  also  be  inaccurate.  One  of 
the  most  valuable  features  of  the  recitation  should  be 
the  discussion  of  the  reports  made  by  the  pupils  in 
order  to  add  to  the  statements  of  the  text,  to  correct 
misconceptions,  and  to  follow  out  trains  of  thought 
suggested.  In  addition  to  the  topical  outlines  which 
they  bring  to  class,  pupils  should  bring  lists  of  ques- 
tions suggested  by  the  presentation  in  the  book  but 
left  unanswered.  Excellent  work  of  this  kind  was  done 
for  the  writer  by  a  fourth  grade  in  a  series  of  reading 
experiments  conducted  in  the  Speyer  School.  Higher 
grades  should  do  even  better  work  along  this  line. 
Pupils  who  have  access  to  other  sources  than  the  text- 
book can  add  much  to  the  recitation  by  bringing  hi 
reports  of  what  they  found  there  which  bears  upon  the 


SANTA  BARBARA  STATE  POT  T 


r  mi>  * 


102  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

lesson.  These  reports,  it  scarcely  need  be  said,  should 
be  presented  in  as  good  form  as  the  textbook  lesson, 
and  may  be  kept  in  the  class  notebooks  in  which  the 
pupils  keep  the  outlines  prepared  for  class,  their  lists 
of  questions,  the  names  of  references,  and  other  help- 
ful items.  The  teacher,  too,  should  frequently  have 
supplementary  material  to  offer  in  the  form  of  books, 
magazines,  clippings,  and  the  like.  He  may  tell  it, 
read  it,  or  have  some  member  of  the  class  read  it.  He 
may  also  have  questions  to  ask  which  bring  forth  fruit- 
ful discussion  by  members  of  the  class.  The  lessons 
are  made  rich  in  content  and  interest  by  these  means, 
and  lose  their  perfunctory  character.  There  is  actual 
remaking  of  experience  in  such  exercises.  Ideas  are 
increased  in  number  and  broadened  in  meaning.  Pu- 
pils are  more  interested  because  they  are  dealing  with 
problems  and  because  they  are  bringing  individual 
work  to  the  class  in  addition  to  that  which  all  have 
prepared.  Such  a  recitation  is  a  clearing  house  of  ideas. 
Pupils  bring  their  own  contributions  and  receive  from 
others. 

In  addition  to  supplementing  the  text,  the  reci- 
tation period  should  clear  up  errors.  The  child  who 
read  that  "The  Pilgrims  sought  an  asylum  in  Hol- 
land" and  recited,  "The  Pilgrims  went  to  an  asylum 
in  Holland,"  needed  to  have  his  idea  investigated 
and,  as  it  turned  out,  corrected  as  well.  This  instance 
represents  a  class  of  errors  due  to  the  authors'  way 
of  expressing  their  thoughts.  The  words  are  not  al- 


THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE  103 

ways  understood,  nor  are  the  sentences  clear,  hence 
even  experienced  readers  sometimes  differ  in  their  in- 
terpretations of  an  author's  meaning.  Pupils  with  less 
experience  are  frequently  puzzled  and  misled.  The 
author  who  writes  for  fifth-grade  pupils  that  "The 
Norwegians  are  famous  for  their  tenacity  of  will," 
writes  over  the  heads  of  his  readers.  Even  so  simple  a 
statement  as  the  one  that  "The  mountains  of  Japan 
are  too  near  the  coast  to  admit  of  long  rivers  "  causes 
misunderstanding,  since  with  school  children  admit 
means  to  allow  to  enter.  If  pupils  are  encouraged  to 
report  their  difficulties  in  class,  they  will  bring  up  such 
passages  as  have  puzzled  them  and  which  they  must 
have  explained  in  order  to  understand  some  point  that 
is  valuable.  Other  members  of  the  class,  or,  as  a  last 
resort,  the  teacher,  may  be  able  to  give  the  help  needed. 
If  the  error  is  revealed  through  the  recitation,  assist- 
ance can  be  given  through  these  same  channels. 

In  gleaning  material  from  many  sources,  pupils  may 
find  statements  which  are  absolutely  false  or  of  very 
dubious  character. 

Reading  must  be  carefully  done,  observations  must  be 
exactly  taken,  and  things  heard  must  be  sifted  before  reports 
are  made.  Gradually,  as  more  responsibility  is  put  upon 
pupils  for  the  selection  of  the  sources  of  data,  the  children 
ought  to  become  capable  of  discriminating  in  their  judg- 
ment of  these  sources.  They  should  consider  why  one  news- 
paper should  be  consulted  rather  than  another;  why  one 
historian  or  geographer  should  be  preferred  to  others;  and 
why  certain  people's  reports  are  more  to  be  relied  upon 


104  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

than  others.  .  .  .  Criticism  of  sources  will  of  ten  come  natu- 
rally, as  for  example,  the  criticism  of  newspapers  and  period- 
icals of  the  sensational  type;  of  writers  whose  statements 
are  founded  on  slight  evidences  and  permeated  by  an  un- 
friendly spirit. 

Through  partisan  spirit,  through  conscious  intent 
to  deceive,  or  through  lack  of  reliable  data,  historians 
may  write  statements  which  should  properly  be  ques- 
tioned. Because  of  the  frequent  changes  in  boundaries 
and  forms  of  government,  geographies  quickly  become 
inaccurate.  These  are  but  typical  cases  which  show 
the  need  of  keeping  a  questioning  attitude  toward  an 
author's  statements.  The  recitation  period  offers  one 
opportunity  for  this  careful  scanning  of  facts.  It  should 
encourage  the  comparison  of  statements  drawn  from 
different  sources  to  see  whether  they  agree,  and  to  deter- 
mine why  one  statement  or  account  should  be  accepted 
rather  than  another.  The  results,  both  in  knowledge 
and  in  the  habit  of  mind  formed,  thoroughly  justify 
such  procedure. 

How  the  notebooks  may  be  made  helpful 

The  subject  of  notebooks  has  already  been  referred 
to.  If  the  pupils  made  no  other  use  of  them  than  to 
write  a  list  of  paragraph  headings  or  a  topical  outline 
from  the  matter  found  in  the  class  textbook,  it  would 
be  worth  while  to  employ  them.  Add  to  this  the  synop- 
sis of  material  found  in  other  places,  the  questions 
which  come  up  during  the  study  of  the  lesson,  the 


THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE  105 

difficulties  encountered,  the  names  of  helpful  refer- 
ences, the  reports  of  experiments  or  observations  or 
investigations,  and  the  like,  and  the  notebook  becomes 
invaluable.  It  is  very  different  from  the  book  in  which 
the  pupil  writes  only  that  which  the  teacher  dictates, 
or  writes  on  the  blackboard  for  him  to  copy.  It  is  the 
fruit  of  his  own  effort.  It  contains  his  contributions  to 
the  classwork.  It  helps  him  keep  track  of  his  difficul- 
ties as  well  as  of  important  data  and  sources  of  data. 
One  need  only  compare  the  preparation  of  such  a  book 
with  the  lesson  preparation  which  consisted  in  learning 
the  text  verbatim.  The  one  is  mechanical;  the  other 
means  mastery  of  thought.  We  have  not  yet  fully 
realized  how  helpful  an  aid  the  notebook  can  be,  nor 
have  we  utilized  it  as  we  should. 

Learning  to  follow  the  recitation  in  class 

When  the  recitation  period  is  devoted  to  the  mere 
reproduction  of  a  selection  from  a  book  which  all  have 
read,  the  attention  of  the  pupils  is  difficult  to  hold.  It 
is  a  psychological  fact  that  attention  soon  wearies  with 
monotony  and  must  have  interest  or  variation  of  some 
sort  to  hold  it.  If  the  recitation  period  is  devoted  to 
learning  something  new  about  the  lesson,  if  the  pupils' 
individual  work  is  a  contribution,  if  they  are  learning 
from  the  teacher  or  from  the  reports  brought  in  by 
their  mates,  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in  holding 
attention.  The  members  of  the  class  will  attend  in 
order  to  learn  what  the  others  have  to  say,  in  order  to 


106  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

correct  errors,  and  in  order  to  add  their  quota  to  the 
classwork.  If  nothing  new  is  said,  if  the  teacher  cor- 
rects all  errors,  and  if  pupils  have  no  opportunity  to 
supplement  each  other  or  the  text,  why  should  pupils 
attend  or  try  to  follow  the  recitation?  They  will  follow 
if  their  interest  is  aroused  and  if  they  are  made  active 
participants  in  the  exercise.  There  will,  of  course,  be 
shirks,  and  these  will  have  to  be  held  closely  respons- 
ible for  results  at  times  in  order  to  keep  them  at  work. 
Usually,  the  matter  of  securing  attention  takes  care 
of  itself  when  the  recitation  is  live  and  worth  while. 

Summary.  (1)  The  recitation  is  the  class  exercise  in 
which  the  pupils  report  the  results  of  their  study.  It  deals 
with  subject-matter  rather  than  drill  exercises.  (2)  The  ma- 
terial studied  may  be  obtained  from  books,  periodicals,  or 
newspapers.  It  may  be  something  observed  or  experimented 
with.  It  may  be  information  gained  through  inquiries  made 
in  one's  social  group.  It  may  be  the  results  of  one's  own  men- 
tal processes.  (3)  The  forms  recitation  may  take  are  the  ver- 
batim report,  a  paraphrase  of  the  text,  the  topical  exercise, 
and  the  question-and-answer  form.  (4)  In  the  recitation, 
the  subject-matter  presented  should  be  amplified  and  cor- 
rected. Pupils  should  learn  to  weigh  the  value  of  statements 
and  sources.  (5)  In  connection  with  the  recitation,  the  pu- 
pils should  be  required  to  keep  notebooks  in  which  to  enter 
their  outlines  and  summaries,  questions  to  be  discussed  in 
class,  sources  of  data,  and  the  like.  (6)  Pupils  should  learn 
to  follow  the  recitation  in  order  to  learn,  to  correct,  and  to 
supplement. 

REFERENCES:  G.  H.  Belts,  The  Recitation;  J.  A.  H.  Keith, 
Elementary  Education,  chaps,  vm  and  ix;  W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Edu- 
cative Process,  chap,  xxi;  C.  L.  Robbins,  The  Socialized  Recitation; 
Teachers  College  Record,  Sept.,  1910;  M.  E.  Branom,  The  Project 
Method;  W.  P.  Whitney,  The  Socialized  Recitation. 


THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE  107 


EXERCISES 

1.  Which  do  you  consider  more  valuable  in  results  to  a  class,  a 
recitation  lesson  in  which  the  pupils  recite  memorized  subject- 
matter  with  little  or  no  prompting,  or  a  lesson  in  which  the 
teacher  asks  many  questions  the  answers  to  which  are  taken 
bodily  from  the  textbook? 

2.  Suggest  a  better  form  of  recitation  than  either  of  those  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  exercise. 

8.  "  Indeed,  Washington  had  already  shown  his  patriotism  in  many 
acts  of  statesmanship.  There  had  been  a  time,  just  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  when  the  officers  of  his  army,  disgusted  with  the 
government,  suggested  that  Washington  be  made  King.  Had 
he  accepted  this  suggestion  it  is  very  likely  that  our  country 
would  have  been  doomed  to  a  military  government.  But  the 
noble  character  of  Washington  resented  the  idea  and  he  con- 
vinced his  officers  that  they  were  wrong.  And  now  once  more 
he  was  to  lead  his  countrymen  in  the  paths  of  peace.  When  the 
convention  came  together  Washington  was  promptly  chosen  its 
chairman." 
(a)  Write  a  list  of  questions  covering  the  material  in  the  above 

paragraph  which  can  be  answered  from  the  text. 
(6)  Suggest  the  best  possible  treatment  for  this  paragraph  in 

a  recitation  lesson, 
(c)  In  what  respects  do  you  consider  (b)  better  than  (a)  ? 

4.  Suppose  the  following  paragraph  had  been  assigned  to  a  class 
for  study.  What  are  some  of  the  questions  the  pupils  should 
bring  to  the  recitation  lesson  for  answer? 

"Under  the  new  Constitution  certain  officers  were  to  be 
elected.  Able  men  were  chosen  as  members  of  Congress.  For 
President  there  could  be  but  one  choice.  All  looked  to  Washing- 
ton to  guide  the  new  nation,  and  he  was  elected  without  any 
opposition  whatever.  For  Vice-President,  John  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts,  was  chosen." 

6.  How  many  of  the  questions  prepared  in  the  preceding  exercise 
might  the  pupils  answer  for  themselves  so  that  they  could  pro- 
sent  both  questions  and  answers  during  the  recitation  period? 

6.  What  value  is  there  in  having  pupils  present  the  results  of  their 
study  according  to  an  orderly  plan? 

7.  In  the  recitation  period  what  responsibilities  should  be  borne  by 
the  class?  What  by  the  teacher?  Is  this  the  usual  way  of  divid- 
ing them? 


108  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

8.  In  order  that  a  recitation  may  be  as  profitable  as  possible,  what 
preparation  should  a  teacher  make  for  it? 

9.  Teachers  are  frequently  judged  by  the  way  they  conduct  a 
single  recitation.  What  in  a  recitation  would  justify  you  in  con- 
cluding that  a  teacher  possesses  good  professional  ability?  That 
the  teacher  is  doing  poor  work? 

10.  Why  are  recitations  sometimes  dull  and  uninteresting?  How  can 
the  situation  be  changed? 

11.  If  the  members  of  a  class  should  be  trained  to  insist  upon  all 
recitations  being  clear,  relevant  to  the  topic  or  question,  and  full 
enough  to  cover  the  point,  what  would  be  the  effect  both  upon 
lesson  preparation  and  upon  the  recitations  made  in  class? 

12.  Recall  your  own  experience  as  a  pupil;  also  bring  to  mind  ob- 
servations of  teaching  procedure  made  by  you.  How  much  op- 
portunity was  given  to  pupils  to  do  any  of  the  things  named  in 
11,  above? 

IS.  Would  it  be  good  training  for  the  future,  as  well  as  for  the  pres- 
ent, for  pupils  to  learn  to  present  subjects  clearly,  fully,  and  ac- 
curately, and  to  stick  to  the  point? 


X 

THE  AROUSAL  AND  GUIDANCE  OF  APPRECIATION 

The  reason  for  this  type  of  lesson 

EDUCATION  deals  with  more  than  the  gaining  of 
ideas  through  the  various  senses,  and  with  more  than 
logical  thinking.  It  is  not  limited  to  the  formation  of 
habits  or  to  the  establishment  of  physical  health.  In 
the  general  scheme  to  produce  results  through  educa- 
tion, we  must  take  all  of  these  aims  into  considera- 
tion, and  must  include  in  addition  the  pleasures,  ap- 
provals, disapprovals,  appreciations  of  beauty,  fitness, 
and  harmony,  and  the  moral  and  social  sentiments  of 
our  pupils.  If  we  wish  the  rising  generation  to  care 
for  good  music,  pictures,  and  literature;  to  be  taste- 
ful in  personal,  household,  and  municipal  decoration; 
to  dislike  the  ugly,  the  untidy,  the  unclean,  and  the 
unfitting;  and  to  rise  to  high  standards  of  living,  both 
private  and  civic,  —  we  must  definitely  include  train- 
ing for  these  ends  hi  our  school  plans  and  procedure. 

It  may  be  urged  that  all  these  ends  are  accomplished 
by  the  lessons  which  impart  information  in  regard  to 
these  various  lines  of  knowledge  and  endeavor:  but 
knowledge  does  not  always  include  the  feeling  of  ap- 
preciation which  affects  ideals.  There  is  a  value  in  facts 
over  and  above  their  intellectual  value  as  facts.  There 


110  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

is  the  appeal  to  Interest,  to  emotion,  to  a  sense  of  ap- 
preciation of  deeper  or  finer  significances  than  appear 
at  first  sight.  The  lesson  or  part  of  a  lesson  which  is 
devoted  to  influencing  such  interest  or  appreciation 
may  be  called  an  exercise  in  appreciation. 

The  kinds  of  appreciation  to  be  considered 

a.  Social.  One  important  type  of  appreciation  is 
that  which  has  for  its  basis  the  values  and  needs  of 
human  beings  whether  regarded  as  individuals  or  as 
a  society.  A  visitor  to  a  foreign  country  who  remains 
but  a  short  time  is  likely  to  see  only  the  superficial 
side  of  life,  and  because  customs  differ  from  those  pre- 
vailing hi  his  own  land,  he  is  inclined  to  be  critical. 
A  longer  stay,  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  gives 
deeper  insight,  and  a  resulting  appreciation  of  ideals 
and  customs  which  quite  alters  the  first  feeling  of  dis- 
approval. We  have  here  an  instance  of  social  appre- 
ciation. 

In  those  subjects  of  the  curriculum  which  deal  with 
human  life,  this  social  appreciation  may  be  exercised. 
In  geography,  history,  and  literature  we  ought  not 
to  fail  to  cultivate  it  on  the  basis  of  lofty  motives, 
persistent  effort,  hardships  overcome,  and  suffering 
nobly  borne.  The  newspapers  of  the  day  are  full  of 
accounts  of  men  and  women,  —  yes,  and  children,  — 
who  hi  some  way  are  serving  their  fellowmen,  often 
at  the  cost  of  much  inconvenience  or  suffering  to  them- 
selves. The  splendid  results  are  worthy  of  admiration, 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        111 

but  it  is  a  valuable  part  of  education  to  arouse  the  ap- 
preciation for  that  which  made  the  results  possiblef 
namely,  the  spirit  and  the  labor  of  human  beings. 

6.  ^Esthetic.  In  addition  to  the  appreciations  anc 
interests  which  are  based  upon  human  conduct  and 
relations,  there  is  the  whole  field  of  pleasures  and  rec- 
reations in  which  standards  need  cultivation.  The 
appreciations  involved  in  lessons  dealing  with  these 
phases  of  experience  are  known  as  the  aesthetic  appre- 
ciations. We  need  such  appreciation  in  dealing  with 
music,  art,  literature,  or  other  material  in  which  good 
taste,  beauty,  lofty  conception,  and  the  like  are  in- 
volved. Since  good  taste,  beauty,  and  other  aesthetic 
elements  are  found  in  many  forms,  appreciation  has 
many  objects  upon  which  it  may  be  exercised.  It  does 
not  require  something  difficult,  expensive,  or  far  away. 
It  may  be  aroused  in  any  environment,  and  by  the 
work  of  either  man  or  nature.  Our  greatest  need  is  to 
learn  to  open  our  eyes  and  see  the  possibilities  of 
aesthetic  appreciation  all  about  us. 

In  what  worth  may  consist 

Few  of  us  have  had  much  training  in  appreciation  in 
any  line  in  which  it  is  possible ;  hence  we  are  timid  about 
undertaking  to  train  our  pupils.  The  very  word  (Esthe- 
tic is  foreign  to  our  tongues,  and  we  feel  that  the  things 
for  which  it  stands  are  beyond  our  endeavor,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  limited  understanding  of  our  pupils. 
Every  teacher  who  attempts  to  influence  the  finer  feel- 


112  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

ings  of  his  pupils  should  ask  the  question,  "In  what 
does  the  worth  which  is  to  be  appreciated  consist?'* 
Professor  Charters's  *  definition  of  subject-matter  may 
serve  to  throw  light  on  this  point:  — 

Subject-matter  as  a  way  of  acting  may  thus  be  analyzed 
so  as  to  be  called  a  way  of  thinking,  of  feeling,  and  of  acting 
with  the  body.  And  this  helps  to  make  the  idea  clearer  be- 
cause it  is  easy  to  see  that  geography  is  a  way  of  thinking 
about  the  earth's  surface.  "Crossing  the  Bar"  is  a  way  of 
feeling  and  thinking  about  death.  The  Ten  Commandments 
are  ways  of  governing  our  moral  actions.  Social  customs  are 
methods  of  acting  toward  other  people,  of  feeling  toward 
them  or  of  thinking  about  them. 

If  in  literature  or  art  or  whatever  we  are  teaching,  we 
try  to  find  out  how  the  author  or  artist  thinks  about 
his  subject,  and  then  consider  the  way  in  which  he  has 
expressed  his  thought,  the  worth,  or  sometimes  the 
lack  of  worth,  appears.  Thus  worth  may  lie  in  the 
thought,  or  in  the  form  of  expression. 

In  such  a  book  as  Silas  Marner  we  follow  the  author's 
thought  from  step  to  step  of  the  story  to  see  how  she 
develops  the  various  characters,  and  to  see  what  value 
she  places  upon  such  influences  as  religion,  adversity, 
love  of  gold,  and  the  unfeigned  love  of  a  little  child 
in  moulding  human  life.  We  discover,  also,  that  the 
author  planned  the  story  with  such  skill  that  events 
seem  to  occur  in  a  natural  manner,  and  nothing  takes 
place  for  which  we  have  not  been  prepared.  In  the  case 
of  the  man  who  was  drowned,  the  situation  was  so 
1  W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  ed.  of  1912,  p.  34. 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        113 

presented  that  it  seemed  almost  inevitable  that  he 
should  meet  such  a  fate.  The  author  did  not  have 
to  stop  at  a  critical  moment  in  the  story  to  explain 
that  there  was  a  body  of  water  hi  a  certain  locality 
and  that  the  man  was  dissipated  hi  his  habits.  The 
narrative  is  so  skillfully  developed  that  we  accept  the 
outcome  without  great  surprise  because  it  seems  so 
natural.  It  is  clear  that  in  such  a  piece  of  literature  we 
may  appreciate  both  the  story  and  the  way  in  which 
it  is  told.  We  may  do  the  same  hi  music;  that  is,  we 
may  make  either  the  author's  sentiment  or  the  tones 
through  which  the  sentiment  reaches  us  the  object  of 
approval  or  disapproval. 

Material  sometimes  has  aesthetic  value  merely  be- 
cause it  is  pleasing  and  not  because  it  bodies  forth 
some  lofty  conception;  for  example,  the  well-known 
picture  of  the  boy  blowing  bubbles.  Much  of  the  read- 
ing matter  placed  before  pupils  is  of  this  nature.  Some- 
times the  worth  to  be  valued  is  something  ludicrous 
or  humorous.  Such  worth  is  found  in  Alice  in  Wonder- 
land, Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  and  other  master- 
pieces. Some  of  our  music  is  of  this  nature.  Apprecia- 
tion of  humor  is  not  to  be  despised,  and  if  one  reflects 
upon  the  kinds  of  humor  which  many  people  enjoy,  — 
minstrel-show  humor,  musical-comedy  humor,  mov- 
ing-picture-show humor,  practical-joke  humor,  and 
newspaper-picture  humor,  —  he  will  admit  that  there 
is  need  of  elevating  the  standard. 

To  sum  up  briefly  the  forms  of  worth  which  it  is 


114  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

possible  to  bring  before  the  attention  of  pupils  under 
ordinary  conditions,  it  may  be  said  that  in  literature, 
music,  or  art,  the  value  may  lie  in  the  thought  or  feel- 
ing of  the  author,  composer,  or  artist,  in  the  form  in 
which  he  has  expressed  it,  or  in  both.  The  ideas  may 
be  noble,  simply  pleasing,  or  humorous,  or  may  pos- 
sess some  other  worthy  quality.  The  skill  in  expres- 
sion may  lie  in  either  the  boldness  or  delicacy  of  style; 
in  grandeur  or  in  simplicity;  in  subtleness  or  in  direct- 
ness; or  it  may  take  some  other  form. 

In  nature,  we  admire  form,  as  in  clouds,  leaves, 
crystals;  colors,  as  in  sunsets  and  autumn  landscapes; 
massiveness,  ruggedness,  strength,  as  in  mountains, 
rocks,  and  trees.  Sometimes  placidity  appeals,  as  in 
landscapes  and  still  waters.  Again,  it  is  variety  which 
appeals,  and  sameness  which  bores. 

In  regard  to  people,  we  may  learn  to  value  the  qual- 
ity of  their  motives  and  ideas,  or  the  quality  of  their 
acts;  and  as  we  appreciate,  we  approve  or  disapprove; 
sympathize  with,  or  condemn;  or  are  stirred  by  some 
other  feeling. 

A  complete  presentation  of  the  subject  here  dis- 
cussed in  fragmentary  form  is  out  of  the  question.  If 
a  teacher  will  study  the  material  he  must  present,  and 
also  that  which  he  may  present,  he  will  find  much  that 
is  worthy  of  consideration  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
effect  it  may  produce  upon  the  feelings  and  interests, 
the  estimate  of  worth,  the  appreciation  of  the  pupils. 
If  he  does  not  himself  see  these  possibilities,  he  is  not 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        115 

likely  to  produce  much  emotional  effect  upon  his 
pupils  because  so  much  of  their  approval  hinges  upon 
that  felt  by  the  teacher. 

Some  suggestions  as  to  how  appreciation  may  be 
aroused  or  influenced 

To  show  what  pupils  may  be  led  to  see  and  appre- 
ciate in  a  masterpiece,  extracts  from  a  lesson  given  in 
a  grammar  grade  are  hereby  presented.  The  pupils 
had  sent  a  letter  to  an  art  dealer,  ordering  some  pic- 
tures for  class  study.  These  had  just  arrived  when  the 
class  was  visited,  and  among  them  were  several  copies 
of  "The  Gleaners,"  by  Millet. 

Each  pupil  was  provided  with  a  picture  and  after 
quiet  examination  of  it,  the  class  study  began. 

"What  kind  of  people  did  Millet  enjoy?"  "What  class  did 
he  picture?"  Ans.  "Peasants."  "Why?"  First  pupil:  "He 
was  never  among  the  better  class."  Second  pupil:  "It  was 
hard  for  him  to  paint  other  pictures."  These  statements  were 
challenged  by  others,  and  the  statement  was  finally  accepted 
that  the  artist  was  more  interested  in  these  people  than  in 
others  and  that  he  painted  them  for  that  reason. 

"The  world  has  said  that  this  artist's  pictures  are  among 
the  greatest  painted.  Why  should  we  study  them?"  Ans. 
"To  find  out  why  they  are  so  great." 

The  teacher  then  gave  the  title,  "The  Gleaners,"  and  ex- 
plained the  old  Biblical  law  and  custom.  Several  pupils 
remembered  that  Ruth  gleaned  the  fields. 

"Is  there  anything  to  indicate  the  time  of  day?"  Ans. 
"The  sun."  "The  short  shadows."  "It  must  be  near  noon- 
time." 


116  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

"How  much  of  the  field  do  you  see?"  The  idea  was 
brought  out  that  broad  views  such  as  the  one  portrayed  in 
this  picture  are  often  seen  in  Normandy,  and  that  the  artist 
could  probably  see  just  such  a  scene  as  this  from  his  window. 

"What  is  the  most  prominent  feature  of  the  picture?" 
Ans.  "Three  women." 

"  Are  all  of  the  same  age?"  Ana.  "No." 

"What  makes  you  think  they  are  not?"  First  pupil :  "The 
one  to  the  left  is  youngest.  Her  back  is  straightest  and  she  is 
the  most  graceful." 

"  Note  the  dress  of  these  women."  Pupils  stated  that  they 
are  dressed  alike;  that  the  clothes  are  very  plain;  that  ker- 
chiefs are  worn;  also  peasant  shoes  and  Normandy  aprons. 

"Which  one  is  without  an  apron?  "  Ans.  "The  one  on  the 
left." 

"The  one  on  the  left  has  a  flap  over  her  neck.  Why?" 
Ans.  "Perhaps  she  is  protecting  herself  from  the  sun." 

"Which  one  is  the  youngest?"  Ans.  "The  one  on  the 
left." 

"What  makes  you  think  so?"  Pupils  summed  up  all  the 
reasons  already  given. 

"Why  are  wooden  shoes  good  for  the  purpose?"  Ans. 
"They  protect  the  feet  against  the  stubble,  and  they  do  not 
wear  out." 

"Are  the  women  dressed  appropriately  for  their  work?" 
Ans.  "Yes.  They  are  dressed  plainly  and  they  wear  aprons." 

"  Do  the  women  seem  to  belong  in  the  field?  "  Ans.  "  Yes. 
It  seems  as  if  they  came  every  day." 

"Millet  said,  'The  fitting  is  the  beautiful.'  What  is  there 
beautiful  in  this  picture?"  Ans.  "He  has  the  right  women 
in  the  right  field." 

"Does  any  one  reach  to  the  horizon?  "  Ans.  "  One  does." 

"If  all  three  did,  what  difference  would  it  make?"  Ans. 
"It  would  spoil  the  view.  It  would  shut  it  out." 

The  foreground,  middle  ground,  and  background  were  ex- 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        117 

amined  to  see  what  the  artist  had  placed  in  each.  The  chil- 
dren saw  that  the  women  are  represented  as  just  ready  to 
move  forward,  and  decided  which  one  will  be  the  first  to  step 
ahead.  They  tried  to  imagine  themselves  in  the  field  and 
they  named  the  sounds  they  would  hear,  as  rolling  wheels, 
the  sound  of  voices,  —  men's  voices,  because  the  women  are 
too  busy  to  talk,  —  the  orders  of  the  overseer,  the  sound  of 
rustling  grain,  and  the  song  of  birds. 

"  Why  has  the  world  decided  this  is  a  great  picture?  "  Ana. 
"One  can  imagine  one's  self  there."  "There  is  so  much  mo- 
tion in  it."  "The  hands  of  the  women  are  so  natural."  "It 
is  so  lifelike  because  it  looks  as  peasants  feel."  "Not  many 
painted  peasants."  "Millet  painted  with  meaning." 

Throughout  this  lesson  the  pupils  were  entering 
into  the  artist's  thought  and  his  method  of  conveying 
it,  and  they  were  also  forming  a  basis  for  future  judg- 
ments. The  message  was  worth  while,  and  the  artist 
had  expressed  it  with  skill.  This  the  children  came  to 
see  and  to  appreciate  to  some  extent.  As  is  frequently 
the  case,  they  noted  some  ideas  of  little  value  and  over- 
looked some  of  much  greater  worth.  Further  work  in 
the  study  of  masterpieces  should  exercise  a  decided 
influence  upon  their  understanding  of  art  and  upon 
their  attitude  toward  it. 

In  literature,  we  frequently  limit  our  efforts  to 
following  the  thread  of  the  thought,  to  getting  the 
pronunciation  and  meanings  of  words,  and  to  training 
in  oral  rendition.  Much  of  the  author's  skill  will  re- 
main undiscovered  and  consequently  unappreciated 
if  nothing  more  than  this  be  done,  and  much  of  the 
power  of  the  pupils  to  appreciate  will  remain  dormant. 


118  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Consider,  for  example,  a  few  lines  from  Bryant's  poem, 
"The  New  and  the  Old":  — 

"New  are  the  leaves  on  the  oaken  spray. 
New  the  blades  of  the  silky  grass. 
Flowers,  that  were  buds  but  yesterday, 
Peep  from  the  ground  where'er  I  pass. 

"These  gay  idlers,  the  butterflies, 
Broke,  to-day,  from  their  silken  shroud, 
These  light  airs  that  winnow  the  skies, 
Blow,  just  born,  from  a  soft,  white  cloud." 

If  these  stanzas  be  presented  without  the  title,  the 
following  thoughts  might  be  brought  out:  — 

"What  would  be  a  good  title  for  this  poem?"  (Pupils 
usually  say,  "Spring,"  or  name  some  month,  as  "April," 
"May,"  or  "June.")  The  month  may  be  determined  by  ref- 
erence to  the  new  oak  leaves.  It  is  sometimes  necessary  to 
bring  out  the  facts  that  the  author  of  the  poem,  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  lived  in  New  England,  and  that  the  oak 
leaves  in  that  part  of  the  world  burst  forth  in  May,  so  that  if 
the  name  of  a  month  is  to  be  chosen  as  a  title,  it  must  be 
"May."  "What  is  there  in  the  poem  to  suggest  the  title 
chosen?"  (The  idea  that  everything  is  new  will  finally  be 
given.)  "How  many  things  are  new?"  " How  has  the  poet 
expressed  the  newness  of  the  butterflies?"  "Of  the  winds? " 
"In  expressing  newness  to  how  many  senses  has  he  ap- 
pealed?" "What  senses  are  omitted?"  (Sound  will  be  men- 
tioned.) "  What  sounds  might  be  included ? "  "Try  to  add  a 
stanza  that  will  include  spring  sounds."  "Why  call  the  but- 
terflies idlers?  "  "Where  did  they  come  from?"  "How  does 
the  poet  tell  us  where  they  come  from?"  "Where  does  he 
say  the  winds  come  from?"  "Isheright?"  "Note  the  use  of 
winnow."  "We  use  it  to  mean  separating  wheat  from  chaff, 
the  good  from  the  worthless.  Could  this  be  what  the  author 
meant?"  "Consult  dictionary  for  use  of  word  and  see  if  any 
new  significance  is  added." 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        119 

"  Follow  the  objects  in  the  order  that  the  poet  saw  them. 
Is  the  order  a  good  one,  i.e.,  would  one  see  the  objects  in  this 
sequence?"  (Memorize  poem  if  desired.) 

"The  idea  of  spring  or  of  newness  was  the  author's  theme 
for  these  stanzas.  What  might  be  written  as  a  contrast?" 
("The  Old,"  or  "Autumn,"  will  probably  be  suggested.)  "If 
you  were  to  write  the  contrasting  part,  what  would  you  in- 
clude?" "Bryant  wrote  some  stanzas  to  show  a  contrast 
with  these.  Would  you  like  to  know  what  he  wrote?"  The 
lesson  may  end  here  with  the  class  looking  forward  to  the 
rest  of  the  poem  which  may  be  read  later,  or  the  pupils  may 
try  to  write  the  rest  of  the  poem  themselves. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  pupils  will  ask  some 
of  the  questions  indicated  in  the  treatment  of  this 
poem.  If  the  teacher  starts  the  pupils  to  looking,  they 
will  be  quite  sure  to  make  discoveries  for  themselves, 
to  find  places  which  need  explanation,  and  to  request 
that  explanations  be  given. 

The  pupils  might  also  contrast  the  author's  selec- 
tion of  words  and  his  poetic  form  of  expression  with 
the  words  and  the  arrangement  they  would  ordinarily 
use  to  express  the  same  thought.  "How  does  the  au- 
thor's way  differ  from  yours?  "  "  Do  you  like  his  way?  " 
"Which  lines  do  you  like  best?"  This  study  of  form 
should  follow  the  study  of  the  thought,  but  should  pre- 
cede memorizing,  as  it  prepares  the  way  for  it. 

In  taking  up  the  study  of  "Lines  to  a  Waterfowl " 
with  a  class  of  eighth-grade  pupils,  the  teacher  told  the 
pupils  that  this  poem  is  considered  one  of  the  greatest 
poems  on  nature  ever  written.  The  class  at  once  turned 


120  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

to  it  to  discover  why  it  is  a  great  poem.  They  saw  that 
it  is  a  fine  description  of  a  solitary  bird  flying  through 
the  trackless  air,  and  that  the  thought  which  comes 
into  the  author's  mind  of  the  divine  power  which  will 
protect  and  guide  him  through  life  is  noble  and  beauti- 
ful. These  two  points  give  the  poem  value.  With  some 
help  the  pupils  discovered  that,  in  addition  to  what 
the  poet  has  expressed  directly,  he  has  told  a  number 
of  things  by  implication.  They  found  out  what  time 
of  day  it  was  when  the  bird  was  seen;  what  season  of 
the  year  it  was;  in  what  part  of  the  sk.,  the  bird  was 
seen;  the  direction  of  its  flight;  and  whether  Bryant 
was  an  old  man  or  a  young  man  when  he  wrote  the 
poem.  His  skill  in  thus  imparting  facts  by  implying 
them  and  weaving  them  into  the  main  thought  was 
weighed  as  an  element  of  worth  in  the  poem. 

"Thoughts  that  are  noble  and  beautiful  should  be 
expressed  in  fitting  language.  Has  the  writer  of  this 
poem  added  to  its  worth  by  the  way  he  has  expressed 
his  ideas?"  This  question  was  asked  and  led  to  study 
of  the  technical  aspects.  The  selection  and  arrange- 
ment of  words,  phrases,  or  lines  which  appealed  espe- 
cially to  members  of  the  class  received  attention  in  this 
part  of  the  lesson,  and  the  class  passed  judgment  upon 
the  language,  selecting  passages  they  liked  best. 

In  such  lessons  as  the  one  just  described,  the  appeal 
to  the  ear  should  not  be  neglected.  Mind  and  eye  have 
been  busy  with  the  poem,  but  it  should  not  be  left  un- 
til it  has  been  read  aloud  so  that  its  oral  beauty  may 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        121 


be  appreciated,  because  this  is  one  of  its  greatest 
charms.  Much  of  the  reading  material  used  in  the 
schools  has  nothing  to  commend  it  to  the  ear.  It  is 
supplied  either  for  the  purpose  of  giving  young  pupils 
practice  in  recognizing  words,  or  for  the  sake  of  the 
thought  it  conveys.  Fortunately  there  is  also  a  store 
of  reading  matter  that  makes  its  appeal  to  the  sense  of 
hearing  and  gives  pleasure  to  the  listener.  The  trouble 
is  that  some  teachers  do  not  discriminate,  and  try  to 
have  their  pupils  read  aloud  every  word  of  every  selec- 
tion presented,  instead  of  skipping  judiciously  the 
parts  ill-adapted  to  such  a  purpose. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  make  suggestions  for  all  subjects 
in  the  curriculum,  but  one  more  lesson  will  be  quoted 
to  show  the  possibilities  of  arousing  appreciation  of 
historical  situations. 

A  class  that  was  studying  the  Civil  War  demanded 
rather  indignantly  to  know  why  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  endeavored  to  break  the  blockade  of  the  South- 
ern ports  in  order  to  send  in  supplies.  Why  should  they 
aid  the  South?  Some  study  led  them  to  see  that  it  was 
because  British  manufacturers  wanted  cotton.  The 
teacher  placed  this  table  on  the  blackboard. 

COTTON  IMPORTS  INTO  ENGLAND 


Year 

From  D.  S.  A. 
(pounds) 

From  other  countries 
(pounds) 

Price  per  Ib. 

1861 
1862 
1863 

1,290,000,000 
920,000,000 
36,000,000 

392,000,000 
597,000,000 
722,000,000 

14(4 
28tf 
M£ 

122  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Teacher.  "With  these  figures  in  mind,  let  us  take  a  walk 
in  Manchester  in  1861."  The  ideas  were  suggested  that  mills 
were  running,  many  people  were  working,  and  were  making  a 
good  living.  The  teacher  gave  the  information  that  about 
one  fourth  of  a  million  workers  were  employed  in  the  cotton 
mills. 

Teacher.  "Would  the  quarter  of  a  million  workers  be  the 
only  ones  employed?"  Ana.  "No;  there  must  have  been 
shippers,  merchants,  shopkeepers,  sailors,  railroad  men, 
truckmen,  dressmakers,  and  others." 

Teacher.  "With  the  mills  in  operation,  what  would  be  the 
condition  of  business?"  Ans.  "Business  would  be  prosper- 
ous and  everybody  would  have  employment." 

The  teacher  suggested  a  walk  in  Manchester  in  1862,  and 
the  class  compared  conditions  with  those  of  1861. 

Teacher.  "Come  to  1863,  and  note  conditions."  Pupils. 
"  Conditions  are  much  worse.  People  are  out  of  work." 
"  Goods  are  expensive."  " There  is  no  money  to  buy  clothes." 
"Business  is  dull  in  many  lines."  "Bills  are  unpaid  because 
people  have  no  way  of  earning  money." 

A  glimpse  into  these  conditions  answered  the  ques- 
tion for  the  pupils  as  to  why  people  in  Great  Britain 
should  seek  to  aid  the  South  during  the  war,  and  it 
mollified  their  attitude  when  they  learned  that  it  was 
not  merely  a  case  of  meddlesome  interference. 

A  person's  ideas  of  taste  and  of  worth  are  based 
upon  his  knowledge  to  a  great  extent.  The  preceding 
illustrations  show  this  to  be  true.  They  are  also  influ- 
enced greatly  by  his  attempts  to  do  the  thing  himself; 
hence  the  suggestion  that  pupils  try  to  write  stanzas 
to  complete  the  poem,  "The  Old  and  the  New."  In 
some  of  the  class  lessons,  the  pupils  through  their  own 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        123 

activity  may  grow  in  the  sense  of  beauty  and  fitness. 
Exercises  in  color  combinations  for  house  furnishing, 
house  decorating,  for  dressmaking,  or  for  applied  de- 
sign may  be  given  by  means  of  paints,  crayons,  colored 
papers,  dress  materials,  ribbons,  samples  of  upholster- 
ing fabrics,  or  wall-paper  samples.  Sometimes  good 
prints  can  be  obtained  which  show  the  interior  of  fa- 
mous houses.  These  afford  an  opportunity  to  study 
colors,  designs,  and  arrangement  of  decorations  and 
furniture.  Pupils  can  then  with  their  own  materials 
arrange  and  mount  what  they  consider  good  combina- 
tions of  color,  and  can  profitably  study  and  criticize 
the  efforts  of  their  fellow  pupils.  In  connection  with 
these  lessons,  they  should  observe  and  criticize  the 
decorations  of  their  homes  and  of  the  neighborhood. 
Possibly  a  generation  thus  trained  would  abolish  much 
of  the  ugliness  which  now  offends  the  public  eye,  and 
would  substitute  a  more  beautiful  environment  for  it. 
In  music  it  is  possible  to  train  pupils  to  feel  that  a 
certain  quality  of  voice  is  the  best  one  to  express  a 
given  sentiment,  while  another  sentiment  demands 
quite  a  different  quality.  The  tone  and  rhythm  re- 
quired for  a  bright  spring  song  can  be  contrasted 
with  those  suited  to  a  song  that  is  stately  or  solemn. 
Attention  can  be  called  to  the  variation  in  quality 
of  voice  and  rate  of  movement  in  the  different  parts 
of  the  same  song,  according  to  the  sentiment  ex- 
pressed. The  attempt  to  compose  music  suited  to  the 
words  helps  the  growth  of  appreciation  in  music,  just 


124  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

as  the  attempt  to  write  leads  to  better  appreciation  in 
literature. 

The  estimate  of  worth,  the  feeling  of  value  is  greatly 
affected  by  the  material  with  which  it  is  fed,  so  to 
speak.  If  we  hear  colloquial  English,  we  usually  speak 
it.  If  we  hear  poor  music,  that  is  the  kind  we  sing  or 
play.  In  order  to  produce  fine  musical  appreciation 
we  should  provide  good  music  as  abundantly  as  pos- 
sible, —  good  lullabies,  spring  songs,  harvest  hymns, 
winter  songs,  folk  songs,  national  hymns  from  different 
countries;  these  are  quite  accessible  and  are  well  worth 
hearing  and  singing.  Fortunately  much  good  music 
is  not  too  difficult  for  school  children  to  learn,  so  that 
it  is  quite  possible  to  put  before  them  for  mastery  se- 
lections which  minister  to  fine  pleasure. 

Mechanical  devices  for  reproducing  music  are  in 
general  use  and  are  constantly  being  improved.  They 
should  be  utilized  to  acquaint  young  people  with  the 
compositions  of  the  best  musical  artists  and  with  the 
world's  best  singers  and  players.  If  a  school  cannot 
buy  these  instruments,  it  can  often  rent  or  borrow 
them.  People  of  musical  ability  are  often  willing  to 
place  their  services  at  the  disposal  of  a  school  on  some 
special  occasion.  In  this  way  fine  voices  and  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  instruments  can  be  heard.  Church  choirs 
can  be  induced  to  render  the  p.nthems  of  a  composer  in 
whom  pupils  are  interested.  In  large  cities  where  per- 
manent musical  organizations  exist,  special  rates  for 
concerts  can  usually  be  obtained  for  school  children. 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        125 

These  are  a  few  suggestions  as  to  what  can  be  done 
to  further  musical  knowledge  and  taste.  The  main 
thing  is  to  arouse  school  authorities  and  school  teachers 
to  earnest  thought  about  their  importance  and  their 
possibilities,  and  they  will  find  ways  for  their  attain- 
ment. 

General  suggestions  for  the  teacher 

Several  suggestions  for  the  teacher  are  in  place  be- 
fore leaving  the  discussion  of  the  lesson  which  seeks  to 
arouse  appreciation.  One  is  that  knowledge  must  form 
its  basis.  A  poem  is  not  merely  beautiful,  a  picture 
pretty,  or  an  action  noble  or  base.  They  are  these  be- 
cause of  certain  qualities  in  them.  Appreciation  must 
rest  upon  knowing  these  qualities  or  facts.  Without 
understanding,  we  may  have  no  sentiment,  we  may 
have  the  wrong  sentiment,  or  we  may  be  led  into  un- 
wise action. 

Another  suggestion  is  that  over-analysis  is  fatal  to 
emotional  enjoyment.  There  was  a  time  when  stu- 
dents analyzed  every  sentence  of  Paradise  Lost  as  far 
as  they  went  in  the  time  allotted  to  that  poem.  Few 
will  claim  that  this  process  influenced  the  literary  ap- 
preciation of  the  students.  It  was  more  likely  to  en- 
gender a  lasting  dislike  in  the  minds  of  the  victims. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  know  how  to  pronounce  every 
word  and  to  be  able  to  define  it,  in  order  to  get  the 
spirit  of  a  good  story  or  poem.  There  is  danger  of 
being  too  microscopic,  of  giving  too  much  time  and 


12«  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

effort  to  details.  It  is  better  to  determine  what  the 
essential  things  are  and  let  the  rest  pass  with  little 
notice.  One  must  seek  the  proper  mean  between 
no  knowledge  and  knowledge  in  such  detail  that  it 
smothers  or  prevents  emotion. 

Still  another  suggestion  is  that  since  emotional 
states  are  communicable  and  are  frequently  aroused 
in  pupils  through  their  imitation  of  the  teacher,  the 
teacher  should  keep  his  own  emotional  states  alive. 
His  enjoyment  of  music,  art,  literature,  architecture, 
his  attitude  toward  historical  situations,  present-day 
questions,  vocations,  amusements,  civic  duties,  his 
approval  of  moral  qualities,  his  contempt  for  the  base, 
the  cowardly,  the  unworthy,  are  quite  likely  to  be  re- 
flected in  his  classes.  If  his  pupils  admire  him,  they 
tend  to  follow  his  interests,  and  it  behooves  him  to 
have  worthy  interests,  to  keep  them  active,  and  to 
make  them  manifest. 

A  very  important  fact  to  remember  is  that  the  aes- 
thetic sense  is  sometimes  slow  in  developing  and  that 
it  is  not  equally  distributed.  Some  people  have  more 
than  others,  and  some  are  more  appreciative  in  cer- 
tain directions  than  in  others.  In  some  of  its  aspects, 
taste  may  grow  rapidly;  in  others,  it  progresses  slowly. 
It  may  require  a  long  time  to  elevate  the  taste  of  some 
people  from  "  musical  noise  "  to  good  music,  from  chro- 
mos  to  masterpieces,  and  from  literary  trash  to  literary 
classics,  but  the  task  is  not  hopeless.  We  may  never 
succeed  in  reaching  our  ideal,  but  by  perseverance  and 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        127 

intelligent  effort,  the  teacher  will  undoubtedly  elevate 
the  nature  of  the  appreciations  experienced  by  his  pu- 
pils. One  needs  to  be  cautious  about  undertaking  too 
much  at  once,  and  about  expecting  fully  developed 
taste  in  young  or  undeveloped  pupils. 

The  final  suggestion  is  that  often  the  emotional  state 
aroused  should  be  directed  into  some  channel  of  activ- 
ity. Self-government  leagues,  the  Boy  Scout  move- 
ment, social  service  clubs,  nature  study  clubs,  art 
leagues,  musical  clubs,  and  the  many  similar  organi- 
zations represent  the  crystallization  of  sentiment  into 
organized  activity.  They  are  suggestive  of  what  may 
be  done  with  groups  of  pupils.  The  forms  of  activity 
for  individuals  are  numberless.  The  main  thing  is  to 
turn  fine  sentiment  into  fine  action  and  not  let  it  go  to 
waste. 

Summary.  (1)  The  lesson  which  has  for  its  aim  the 
arousal  and  guidance  of  appreciation  is  necessary  because  it 
is  the  purpose  of  education  to  elevate  and  train  taste  and 
feeling  as  well  as  to  impart  knowledge  and  increase  skill.  (2) 
The  kinds  of  appreciation  considered  here  are  (a)  social, 
which  deals  with  human  life  and  interests,  and  (6)  aesthetic, 
which  considers  the  field  of  recreations  and  pleasures  in 
music,  art,  literature,  and  the  like.  (8)  The  worth  to  be  ap- 
preciated may  consist  in  the  thought  considered,  in  the  form 
in  which  the  thought  is  conveyed,  in  human  motive  or  action, 
or  in  natural  form,  color,  grandeur,  or  other  element.  (4)  It 
is  suggested  to  the  teacher  that  appreciation  to  be  intelligent 
must  be  based  upon  knowledge;  also,  that  over-analysis  of 
aesthetic  elements  sometimes  begets  disgust  rather  than 
appreciation.  Since  imitation  influences  appreciation,  it  is 


128  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

advisable  for  teachers  to  learn  to  enjoy  and  approve  of  what 
they  desire  their  pupils  to  appreciate.  The  aesthetic  sense 
sometimes  develops  slowly  and  is  not  evenly  distributed,  and 
the  teacher  must  therefore  be  patient  and  discriminating  in 
his  treatment  of  individuals.  Emotive  states  are  intended 
to  furnish  the  basis  for  activity.  The  appreciations  and  fine 
sentiments  of  pupils,  once  roused,  should  function  in  some 
appropriate  way  either  through  individual  or  group  activity. 

REFERENCES:  T.  H.  Briggs  and  L.  D.  Coffman,  Reading  in  the 
Public  Schools,  chaps,  xvin  and  xrx;  G.  D.  Strayer,  A  Brief  Course 
in  the  Teaching  Process,  chap.  vn. 

EXERCISES 

1.  From  the  school  textbooks  in  literature  or  reading,  prepare  a  list 
of  five  things  which  should  be  used  to  arouse  feelings  of  apprecia- 
tion. 

2.  Prepare  a  similar  list  in  history. 

8.  Choose  another  subject  in  which  you  are  particularly  interested 
and  select  from  it  several  incidents  or  situations  which  may  be 
made  the  basis  of  appreciative  feeling. 

4.  We  sometimes  permit  unsightly  things  to  continue  because  we 
have  never  realized  that  they  are  unsightly  or  that  they  might 
be  done  away  with.  Suggest  ways  of  making  a  community  aware 
of  ugly  features  within  its  bounds  and  of  the  means  of  improv- 
ing them. 

5.  What  might  possibly  be  done  through  school  children  to  improve 
the  appearance  of  the  neighborhood? 

6.  Do  you  think  schools  would  be  justified  in  spending  less  time  in 
teaching  pupils  to  read  music  and  more  time  in  making  them 
acquainted  with  musical  masterpieces? 

7.  What  worth  do  you  find  for  appreciation  in  Evangeline,  Hia- 
watha, The  Children's  Hour,  The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night,  Snow- 
Bound,  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  Merchant  of  Venice,  and  Julius 
Ccesar  ?  What  in  Tennyson's  Ulysses  and  Sir  Galahad  f  What 
in  Wordsworth's  Daffodils  ? 

8.  What  is  there  worthy  of  appreciation  in  Michael  Angelo's  statue 
of  David,  or  of  Moses,  or  in  his  painting  of  "The  Last  Judg- 
ment"? 

0.  Name  some  pictures  you  would  select  for  class  study  for  pupils 


THE  AROUSAL  OF  APPRECIATION        129 

and  some  you  would  not  select.  Give  the  reasons  for  acceptance 
or  rejection. 

10.  Have  you  ever  done  anything  to  influence  the  kind  of  jokes 
enjoyed  by  pupils?  How  could  the  correcting  of  jokes  for  a  class 
joke  book  be  made  to  help  the  taste  of  the  class? 

11.  Cite  two  or  three  instances  of  pupils  finding  pleasure  in  an 
author's  language.  What  was  it  that  gave  the  pleasure?  Suggest 
some  means  of  extending  pleasure  in  language. 

12.  Why  do  pupils  like  Treasure  Island,  Old  Ironsides,  Barbara 
Frietchie,  Sheridan's  Ride,  The  Jungle  Book,  Black  Beauty,  Beau- 
tiful Joe,  and  Pinocchio  f 

IS.  How  about  allowing  pupils  to  select,  or  at  least  to  help  select, 
the  pictures  to  be  bought  for  the  school? 

14.  How  could  dressing  dolls  or  preparing  designs  to  be  used  for 
decorative  purposes  be  made  a  means  of  influencing  taste? 

15.  How  could  a  local  dealer  in  furniture  help  you  teach  not  only 
what  is  artistic  in  furniture,  pictures,  and  draperies,  but  also 
what  constitutes  good  combinations  and  arrangement? 

16.  In  what  ways  could  the  schools,  newspapers,  and  clubs  of  a  com- 
munity cooperate  to  make  it  more  beautiful? 

17.  A  large  city  recently  conducted  a  competitive  musical  contest, 
the  object  being  to  familiarize  all  pupils  with  a  hundred  vocal 
and  a  hundred  instrumental  selections.  What  could  your  com- 
munity do  in  this  direction? 


XI 

SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES 

What  the  socializing  exercises  are  intended  to  accom- 
plish 

POSSIBLY  no  recent  movement  connected  with  the 
schools  has  been  more  marked  than  the  tendency  of  the 
last  decade  to  bring  them  into  more  intimate  contact 
with  the  activities  and  problems  of  the  social  life  of 
to-day.  This  movement  has  been  influential  in  two 
directions.  The  experimental  psychologists  have 
raised  the  question  of  the  validity  of  the  doctrine  of 
formal  discipline.  This  doubt  has  caused  us  to  ques- 
tion the  advisability  of  conducting  the  schools  solely 
for  the  sake  of  achieving  mental  discipline  and  culti- 
vating power  to  be  used  some  time  in  the  future.  This 
changed  view  has  in  turn  resulted  in  an  inspection  of 
the  course  of  study  to  discover  just  what  parts  are 
being  taught  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  dis- 
cipline and  power. 

From  another  viewpoint  the  leaders  in  education 
have  maintained  that  the  school  should  represent  life 
itself  and  should  not  be  regarded  merely  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  life.  They  have  urged  the  removal  of  the  bar- 
riers between  school  and  society  and  have  insisted  that 
education  should  be  a  socializing  process.  From  their 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  131 

Bide  they  have  subjected  the  course  of  study,  the  teach- 
ing process,  and  the  general  activities  of  the  school  to 
a  searching  examination  to  discover  how  they  may  be 
brought  into  harmony  with  these  social  purposes.  The 
expressions,  "Socializing  the  curriculum,"  "Socializing 
the  school  procedure,"  are  current  to-day.  The  pupils 
are  not  merely  to  have  the  mental  processes,  such  as 
reasoning,  memory,  and  attention,  trained,  but  are 
to  live  as  members  of  a  society,  and  are,  in  learning, 
to  socialize  the  subject-matter;  that  is,  to  give  it  a 
social  content,  to  see  how  man  has  affected  it,  how  it 
affects  man,  and  to  learn  the  social  purposes  it  serves. 
This  changed  view  of  the  school  is  far-reaching  in  its 
effects.  Few  school  activities  or  subjects  are  free  from 
its  influence.  Any  exercisewhich  tends  to  further  social 
activity  or  social  outlook,  which  gives  insight  into 
social  conditions  and  usages,  or  which  influences  the 
attitude  toward  society,  may  be  regarded  as  a  socializ- 
ing exercise. 

It  is  at  once  apparent  that  a  socializing  exercise  may 
be  a  part  of  any  one  of  a  number  of  school  activities. 
It  is  also  evident  that  it  may  at  times  be  incidental  to 
them,  or  that  it  may  be  their  main  purpose. 

Forms  these  exercises  may  take 

a.  Acquisition  of  knowledge  of  social  conditions,  needs, 
and  activities.  To  be  intelligent  in  its  efforts,  social 
activity  must  be  based  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  con- 
ditions in  which  it  is  to  operate.  But  being  social  does 


132  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

not  always  involve  actual  physical  activity.  It  may, 
and  often  does,  mean  putting  forth  effort  to  help  others 
but  it  may  mean  possessing  an  interest  in  people,  being 
sympathetic,  cherishing  an  attitude  of  helpfulness. 
When  opportunity  arises  these  social  feelings  tend  to 
reveal  themselves  in  action. 

But  interests  and  attitudes  are  based  upon  knowl- 
edge of  some  kind,  and  the  increasing  of  knowledge  is 
one  of  the  functions  of  the  school.  Any  school  exer- 
cise is  a  socializing  exercise,  hi  which  the  subject-mat- 
ter is  made  to  yield  its  content  in  such  a  way  as  to 
throw  light  on  the  lives  of  people,  their  occupations, 
their  joys  and  sorrows,  their  achievements,  their  so- 
cial institutions,  the  conditions  under  which  they  live, 
whether  geographical,  political,  or  economic,  and  the 
like.  Much  of  the  teaching  from  day  to  day  may  thus 
be  socializing  either  directly  or  incidentally.  This  is 
especially  true  in  the  elementary  schools  where  the 
purely  scientific  aspect  of  the  various  subjects  is  not 
the  main  purpose  of  teaching.  Experience  is  to  be  re- 
made in  the  direction  of  more  socialized  content.  It 
would  be  scientifically  correct  to  give  the  exact  and  the 
relative  location  of  Russia,  to  describe  its  surface  and 
its  climate,  to  state  its  form  of  government,  and  to 
name  the  present  ruler,  but  such  an  exercise  would  be 
negative  in  its  influence  upon  the  social  interests  and 
attitude  of  the  pupils  because  of  its  lack  of  social  con- 
tent. The  needs  of  the  people  socially,  industrially, 
and  politically  as  revealed  by  the  recent  emergence 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  133 

from  serfdom,  by  the  educational  situation,  by  the 
lack  of  general  religious  freedom,  by  the  struggles  to- 
ward political  independence,  by  the  backward  stage 
of  development  of  agriculture  and  manufacturing,  and 
by  other  facts  which  may  readily  be  obtained,  —  these 
introduced  into  a  lesson  result  in  social  insight  and 
social  interest,  and  transform  a  lesson  of  mere  fact  into 
a  socializing  exercise. 

The  possibilities  of  presenting  subject-matter  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  increase  social  knowledge  and  to 
influence  the  feelings  of  pupils  have  not  been  fully1 
grasped.  Possibly  some  teachers  will  admit  that  in 
geography,  history,  and  literature  these  ends  may  be 
reached  to  some  extent,  but  they  can  see  no  social  bear- 
ing in  art,  music,  arithmetic,  and  the  other  subjects  of 
the  curriculum.  It  is  possible  that  the  social  bearing  is 
there  and  that  the  teachers  have  not  seen  it  because 
they  have  not  looked  for  it.  Some  suggestions  in  re- 
gard to  content  of  this  nature  will  be  presented  later 
in  this  chapter. 

In  addition  to  the  social  possibilities  of  the  content 
of  the  subject-matter  employed,  there  are  opportuni- 
ties of  making  class  exercises  social  through  the  use 
made  of  the  subject-matter  and  through  the  means  em- 
ployed to  prepare  and  present  lessons.  When  foreign 
languages  are  taught  by  the  conversational  method, 
instead  of  through  the  grammar;  when  letters  are 
written  and  sent  to  real  people;  when  pupils  tell  time 
so  as  to  keep  track  of  their  lessons  or  to  know  when  to 


184  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

go  home;  when  they  add  or  count  so  as  to  distribute 
supplies  or  keep  score  in  a  game;  when  they  measure 
materials  and  compute  cost  in  sewing,  manual  train- 
ing, or  cooking,  —  social  values  and  usages  appear 
which  justify  us  in  considering  such  exercises  as  social- 
izing. Intrinsic  functions  are  employed,  and  these, 
by  definition,  are  social.  A  thoughtful  principal  in  one 
of  the  schools  of  New  York  City  undertook  to  teach 
the  pupils  who  had  just  come  from  continental  Eu- 
rope to  give  the  correct  sounds  of  th,  ch,  and  wh  by 
having  them  make  the  sounds  over  and  over  again. 
They  learned  to  give  the  sounds  correctly,  but  did  not 
use  them  in  speaking.  She  then  gave  lists  of  words 
containing  the  sounds.  These  lists  were  mastered,  and 
still  the  speech  did  not  show  the  effect  of  the  exercise. 
It  was  only  after  drill  on  ordinary  sentences  in  which 
these  sounds  occurred  that  correct  usage  was  finally 
secured.  This  principal's  experience  is  suggestive  of 
much  that  may  be  done  to  socialize  subject-matter  by 
placing  it  in  its  proper  setting,  and  making  it  serve  its 
intrinsic  function.  Its  value  is  enhanced  in  the  minds 
of  the  pupils,  and  mastery  of  usage  as  well  as  knowledge 
of  the  service  it  renders  is  furthered. 

b.  School  activities  involving  cooperation  or  considera- 
tion of  the  welfare  of  others.  Suggestions  as  to  socialized 
work  on  the  part  of  the  pupils  are  given  in  the  chapters 
on  the  assignment  and  the  recitation.  When  the  same 
assignment  is  given  to  all  pupils,  when  the  recitation 
consists  in  saying  to  the  teacher  what  has  been  read 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  135 

in  books  or  what  the  teacher  told  the  class  in  lecture 
form,  when  helping  others  is  frowned  upon,  then  it  is 
a  case  of  each  pupil  for  himself,  —  of  the  survival  of 
the  fittest,  the  fittest  being  those  who  can  attend  regu- 
larly and  memorize  readily.  When,  on  the  contrary, 
individual  members  of  the  class  undertake  to  prepare 
a  certain  part  of  the  lesson  to  report  to  their  class- 
mates, then  efforts  assume  a  social  value,  since  they 
are  working  not  only  for  themselves  but  for  others. 
The  pupil  who  ascertains  for  the  class  how  much  coal 
costs  per  ton,  or  what  brass  is,  or  to  whom  violations 
of  the  fire  ordinances  should  be  reported,  or  renders 
any  service  for  his  fellows,  is  performing  a  socializing 
exercise.  He  may  make  a  piece  of  apparatus,  invent 
a  game,  find  material  of  some  kind,  or  search  out  knowl- 
edge ;  so  long  as  it  is  done  for  the  class  and  not  for  his 
selfish  gratification,  it  must  be  classed  as  social. 

Another  exercise  of  this  nature  is  the  group  work  in 
school.  An  assignment  is  made  to  a  group  of  pupils, 
or  the  group  volunteers  to  accomplish  a  piece  of  work. 
Group  work  means  the  selection  of  a  leader,  loyalty 
to  the  leader,  the  division  of  labor,  and  the  faithful 
performance  of  the  work  assumed ;  in  short,  it  means 
cooperation.  It  includes  not  only  working  with  others, 
but  also,  when  occasion  demands,  working  for  others. 
The  group  may  not  only  prepare  work  upon  which  it 
reports  to  the  class,  but  within  the  group,  service  is 
frequently  rendered  by  one  member  to  another  by 
sharing  materials,  or  by  helping  with  outlines,  charts, 


136  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

or  other  work.  It  is  a  distinctly  social  situation  and 
as  such  has  value  aside  from  the  knowledge  gained 
through  it. 

These  group  assignments  are  helpful  in  connection 
with  geography  in  studying  such  subjects  as  polar 
explorations,  the  industries  of  a  given  city  or  country, 
the  digging  of  the  Panama  Canal,  the  means  employed 
to  offset  the  lack  of  rainfall  in  the  Western  States,  and 
many  other  topics. 

In  history,  where  there  is  so  much  ground  to  be 
covered,  there  is  ample  opportunity  to  employ  group 
work  as  a  means  of  saving  time.  Such  topics  as  the 
following  are  merely  suggestive:  (1)  The  relative  merits 
of  the  claims  of  the  French  and  English  to  the  Ohio 
Valley;  (2)  the  treatment  of  the  Indians  by  the  vari- 
ous nations  which  explored  America;  (3)  the  territory 
explored  or  claimed  by  European  nations  in  North 
America;  (4)  the  forms  of  government  in  the  colonies 
before  1776;  (5)  the  Revolutionary  War  from  the 
standpoint  of  America  and  Great  Britain;  (6)  the 
story  of  slavery  in  this  country;  (7)  the  political  par- 
ties which  have  existed  in  the  United  States. 

In  civics,  the  subject  of  street  cleaning  makes  an 
excellent  group  assignment.  Individuals  in  the  group 
can  organize  and  assign  the  subject  under  such  sub- 
heads as  snow  removal,  garbage  removal  and  disposal, 
the  work  of  the  sweepers,  the  mechanical  devices  em- 
ployed in  street  cleaning,  and  how  the  public  can  aid 
in  the  effort  to  keep  a  city  clean.  The  individuals  can 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  137 

prepare  their  parts,  and  the  subject  then  can  be  pre- 
sented as  a  whole  before  the  class  with  profit  to  all 
concerned. 

In  cooking,  sewing,  and  manual  training  it  is  not  at 
all  uncommon  to  find  several  pupils  working  on  one 
project,  whether  it  be  baking  a  cake,  making  a  dress, 
or  constructing  some  article  of  furniture. 

In  dramatization,  the  group  may  either  present  a 
story  which  has  already  been  put  into  dramatic  form, 
or  the  members  may  write  the  play  and  then  give  it 
before  an  audience. 

A  committee  on  music  selects  and  gives  a  musical 
program,  arranges  to  have  others  give  it,  or  composes 
a  class  song,  or  other  exercise.  Here  again  is  group 
work,  cooperative  effort  put  forth  for  the  class  or 
school. 

The  subjects  cited  are  by  no  means  all  that  afford 
opportunity  for  group  activity.  In  literature,  in  art, 
in  science,  as  well  as  in  other  subjects  of  the  elementary 
and  high-school  curricula,  many  topics  and  situations 
can  be  handled  to  advantage  in  this  manner.  Debat- 
ing necessitates  it;  other  exercises  afford  occasions  for 
its  employment. 

In  addition  to  the  school  exercises  which  have  for 
their  object  the  gaining  of  knowledge  and  the  influ- 
encing of  social  outlook,  there  are  many  school  activi- 
ties which  are  socializing  in  their  influence.  One  of  these 
exercises  is  the  school  housekeeping  which  is  done  by 
members  of  the  class  and  which  includes  the  care  of 


138  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

cupboards,  blackboards,  window  sills,  plants,  birds, 
fish,  school  supplies  and  apparatus.  Many  teachers 
never  think  of  delegating  this  work  to  others;  conse- 
quently they  tire  themselves  out  in  performing  it  and 
deprive  the  pupils  of  the  opportunity  of  being  helpful. 
The  plays  and  games  and  athletic  sports  of  a  school 
are  essentially  social  in  nature.  A  pupil  must  be  a 
good  fellow,  he  must  play  the  game,  doing  his  part  and 
being  either  a  good  winner  or  a  good  loser.  If  the  leader 
sends  him  to  a  subordinate  position,  he  must  learn  to 
take  his  place  and  do  his  best  there.  Team  work  is  the 
great  factor  in  many  of  the  school  sports,  and  conse- 
quently a  player  must  expend  effort  not  merely  for  his 
own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  his  team  and  his  school. 
The  school  in  which  the  pupils  are  as  "dumb,  driven 
cattle,"  doing  what  they  are  told,  as  they  are  told, 
when  they  are  told,  and  the  school  in  which  the  pupils 
do  what  they  please,  as  they  please,  when  they  please, 
represent  the  extremes  of  tyranny  and  license,  and  in 
neither  type  is  there  adequate  opportunity  for  the 
development  of  the  social  virtues.  Through  the  or- 
ganization and  discipline  of  a  school  much  can  be 
done  to  afford  practice  in  effective  social  work  without 
having  scholarship  at  a  low  ebb,  or  responsibility  and 
obedience  lost  sight  of.  The  election  of  class  officers 
to  report  absences  and  tardiness,  to  take  charge  of 
the  classes  when  the  teachers  are  summoned  from 
the  room,  to  conduct  the  classes  through  the  corridors, 
and  at  dismissal  to  marshal  the  lines  out  of  the  build- 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  139 

ing;  and  the  use  of  monitors  to  take  charge  of  yards 
and  corridors,  to  look  after  the  condition  of  the  build- 
ing, and  to  care  for  the  pupils'  wraps  and  hats,  are  two 
suggestions  as  to  what  can  be  done  in  this  direction. 
If  these  school  and  class  officers  be  elected  by  the  pu- 
pils, the  effect  upon  both  the  school  and  the  officers 
thus  chosen  is  often  better  than  when  some  one  in 
authority  appoints  the  pupils  to  perform  these  func- 
tions. The  ideas  of  choosing  those  whom  they  know 
to  be  most  worthy  and  most  capable,  and  then  of  ren- 
dering prompt  obedience  to  the  officers  of  their  own 
choosing,  can  be  instilled  through  conferences  with 
the  pupils  or  in  talks  by  teacher  or  principal  when 
proper  occasion  offers. 

The  extent  to  which  pupils  may  participate  in  school 
government  with  benefit  to  themselves  and  to  the 
school,  will  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  school  and,  it 
may  also  be  said,  with  the  nature  of  the  principal. 
Some  principals,  in  order  to  conduct  a  school  on  such 
a  plan,  would  have  to  be  made  over  because  of  their 
predisposition  to  exercise  control,  or  because  of  the 
habit  of  absolute  rule  formed  by  years  of  experience. 
Wisdom,  patience,  tact,  all  are  necessary  in  undertak- 
ing and  carrying  out  the  plan  of  giving  the  pupils  a 
share  in  the  school  discipline  and  management.  On 
the  other  hand,  some  bodies  of  pupils  are  better  pre- 
pared to  assume  such  participation  than  others  and 
can  safely  take  a  larger  responsibility.  They  have  more 
background  in  the  way  of  knowledge  and  attitude.  But 


140  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

as  both  of  these  are  the  result  of  education,  whether 
in  school  or  out,  it  is  possible  that  those  less  well 
fitted  at  first  for  such  duties  may  be  prepared  by  de- 
grees to  assume  more  responsibility.  The  George  Jun- 
ior Republic  represents  the  fullest  embodiment  of  the 
plan  of  self-government,  but  it  is  not  a  school,  and  its 
economic  and  social  necessities  cannot  be  fully  repro- 
duced in  any  ordinary  school.  Its  plan  of  operation, 
however,  suggests  much  that  is  valuable  to  those  who 
are  in  charge  of  schools. 

The  school  organizations  controlled  entirely  or  in 
part  by  pupils  are  recognized  more  and  more  to  have 
a  decided  value  because  of  the  social  training  and  dis- 
cipline they  afford.  Some  of  these  are  the  sewing  club, 
cooking  club,  nature  study  club,  walking  club,  school 
garden  association,  literary  society,  glee  club,  school 
orchestra,  and  the  debating  society.  Probably  no 
school  will  have  all  of  these  clubs  in  operation,  but  it 
would  be  the  exceptional  school  which  could  not  most 
helpfully  have  some  of  them. 

c.  Organization  of  activities  which  function  in  the 
school  neighborhood  or  community.  In  addition  to  the 
clubs  and  societies  which  work  for  themselves  and  the 
school,  there  are  several  which  the  school  can  set  in 
operation  which  reach  over  into  the  homes  and  the 
neighborhood  in  their  operations.  One  of  these  is  the 
Social  Service  League,  the  members  of  which  pledge 
themselves  to  strive  for  cleanliness  and  fresh  air,  to 
abstain  from  throwing  rubbish  into  the  streets,  to 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  141 

keep  from  destroying  or  marring  property,  and  to  in- 
fluence others  to  follow  the  same  aims.  Others  are 
the  Little  Mothers'  Clubs,  the  Parents'  Associations, 
and  similar  societies.  In  these  clubs,  home,  school, 
and  neighborhood  are  brought  into  very  close  contact 
and  made  mutually  helpful. 

Helps  which  the  teacher  may  employ  in  developing 
social  insight,  attitudes,  and  habits 

a.  Social  instincts  of  pupils.  The  fundamental  help, 
without  which  no  efforts  to  socialize  can  succeed,  lies 
in  the  instincts  possessed  by  the  pupils  to  be  trained. 
Several  of  these  instincts  furnish  a  direct  basis  for  the 
training  proposed  and  should  be  called  into  play  or 
given  the  opportunity  to  develop  naturally  instead 
of  being  repressed.  Among  these  native  tendencies  are 
the  instinct  to  imitate,  to  do  as  others  do;  the  gregari- 
ous instinct,  or  the  instinct  to  seek  the  society  of  one's 
kind;  the  instinct  to  emulate,  and  the  instinct  to  out- 
do others,  both  of  which  can  be  turned  to  social  use; 
the  dramatic  instinct;  the  instinct  of  leadership; 
and  the  instinct  to  be  kindly,  sympathetic,  helpful. 
This  most  helpful  inheritance  ought  to  be  utilized 
much  more  fully  than  it  ever  has  been  and  made  to 
function  freely.  All  too  frequently  we  neglect  it  for 
the  sake  of  imparting  a  body  of  facts  or  for  a  dubious 
amount  of  mental  training.  Knowledge  should  be  im- 
parted and  minds  should  be  trained,  but  this  othe^ 
large  field  should  not  be  left  uncultivated. 


142  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

6.  Subject-matter.  A  second  help  which  the  teacher 
may  call  to  service  is  the  subject-matter.  Some  of  the 
possibilities  have  already  been  suggested  in  this  chap- 
ter. The  trouble  is  that  the  social  possibilities  are  only 
infrequently  suggested  by  the  books  and  the  teacher 
must  seek  them  himself.  A  few  lines  of  effort  are  here- 
with suggested. 

The  teacher  who  caused  her  class  to  see  that  the  peo- 
ple of  Great  Britain  who  attempted  to  run  the  block- 
ade of  the  seaports  in  the  Southern  States  during  the 
Civil  War,  did  so  because  of  economic  conditions  among 
the  manufacturing  classes,  socialized  the  lesson.  A 
lesson  in  manual  training,  such  as  weaving,  which  leads 
to  the  study  of  that  industry,  of  how  people  have  devel- 
oped the  process,  of  the  great  mills  devoted  to  it,  of  the 
number  of  workers,  their  wages,  their  housing,  the  labor 
of  women  and  children,  the  attempts  to  protect  the  lives 
and  interests  of  these  people,  of  efforts  toward  social 
improvement,  and  the  like,  is  a  socializing  lesson. 

Civics,  a  subject  which  deals  exclusively  with  social 
activity,  has  great  possibilities  in  the  way  of  increasing 
social  insight,  interest,  and  activity.  Frequently  it 
deals  only  with  the  form  of  government,  the  election 
and  duties  of  public  officers,  and  similar  material.  Dr. 
Thomas  J.  Jones,  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation, makes  these  suggestions  in  regard  to  it:  — 

Good  citizenship  should  be  the  direct  aim  of  the  high- 
school  courses  in  social  science  and  history.  Good  citizenship 
is  the  test  that  must  be  applied  to  every  topic  in  these  courses. 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  143 

Facts,  conditions,  theories,  activities,  which  do  not  contribute 
directly  to  the  appreciation  of  methods  of  human  better- 
ment, have  no  claim  on  the  time  of  the  high-school  pupil.  .  .  . 
Every  pupil  should  know,  of  course,  how  the  President  of  the 
United  States  is  elected;  but  he  should  also  understand  the 
duties  of  the  health  officer  in  his  community.  It  is  the  things 
near  at  hand  and  socially  fundamental  which  should  be 
taught  first  of  all.  Comparatively  few  persons  have  any  need 
of  knowledge  of  congressional  procedure,  but  every  citizen 
should  know  what  are  the  chances  of  employment  for  the 
average  man. 

Some  of  the  topics  suggested  by  Dr.  Jones  are  com- 
munity health,  housing  and  homes,  pure  food,  public 
recreation,  good  roads,  parcel  post  and  postal  savings, 
community  education,  poverty  and  the  care  of  the 
poor,  crime  and  reform,  family  income,  savings  banks 
and  life  insurance,  human  and  material  resources  of 
the  community,  human  rights  versus  property  rights, 
impulsive  action  of  mobs,  and  the  selfish  conservatism 
of  tradition,  public  utilities,  like  street-car  lines,  tele- 
phones, and  light  and  water  plants.  "The  purpose 
is  not  to  give  the  pupil  an  exhaustive  knowledge  of 
any  of  these  subjects,  but  to  give  him  a  clue  to  the  sig- 
nificance of  these  things  to  himself  and  to  the  com- 
munity, and  to  make  him  want  to  know  more  about  the 
conditions  under  which  he  lives.  It  is  to  help  him 
think  civically,  and,  if  possible,  to  live  civically." 

Arithmetic,  which  has  to  do  with  computations, 
yields  much  in  the  way  of  socializing  content  when  it 
is  pressed  into  service  to  throw  light  on  amounts  and 


144  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

values  as  they  affect  social  life.  A  third  grade  in  the 
Speyer  School  of  Teachers  College  found  out  from  the 
firemen  across  the  street  how  much  oats  and  hay  were 
fed  to  the  horses  daily  and  how  much  they  cost.  Then 
they  set  themselves  a  number  of  problems,  such  as 
finding  how  much  it  cost  to  feed  one  horse  per  day, 
how  much  it  cost  to  feed  all  the  horses  in  that  engine 
house  per  day,  how  much  for  a  week  and  for  a  month. 
Then  they  found  out  how  many  pieces  of  hose  there 
were  in  the  engine  house,  the  length  of  a  section  and 
the  cost  per  foot,  and  computed  the  entire  cost.  This 
exercise  soon  began  to  arouse  their  wonder  over  the 
amount  it  must  cost  the  city  to  keep  up  its  many  en- 
gine houses,  because,  they  reasoned,  there  were  en- 
gines, hose  carts,  hook-and-ladder  wagons,  and  horses 
to  be  bought,  and  the  men  had  to  be  paid  for  their  serv- 
ices. Through  a  messenger  to  the  fire  chief,  they 
found  the  average  number  of  fire  calls  per  day  and  the 
estimated  cost  of  each  call.  Their  computations  simply 
gave  them  a  glimpse  into  great  numbers,  as  they  could 
not  grasp  their  full  significance,  but  they  gained  an 
appreciation  of  the  extent  and  cost  of  the  department 
which  they  did  not  have  at  the  beginning,  and  even 
discussed  gravely  how  very  bad  it  was  to  send  in  false 
alarms  just  for  fun,  since  it  cost  the  city  so  much 
money. 

Another  class  in  a  third  grade  investigated  the  re- 
moval of  snow  from  the  block  in  which  the  school  was 
located.  The  pamphlet  containing  the  city  require- 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  145 

ments  in  regard  to  removals  was  obtained  from  the 
street  commissioner.  The  removal  was  paid  for  by  the 
cubic  yard.  The  size  of  a  cubic  yard  was  determined  by 
using  the  yardstick  and  by  placing  pupils  at  the  corners 
of  the  yard-square  space  laid  off  on  the  floor.  The 
yardstick  itself  gave  the  height  when  held  with  one  end 
resting  on  the  floor  by  one  of  the  boys  who  marked  the 
corners.  The  carts  and  wagons  removing  snow  were 
plainly  marked  so  as  to  show  capacity  in  cubic  yards. 
The  numbers  of  several  were  taken  and  an  average 
capacity  estimated.  The  price  per  cubic  yard  being 
given  in  the  pamphlet,  the  cost  of  a  load  was  reckoned. 
Through  inquiry  the  pupils  learned  how  many  trips  a 
cart  could  make  to  the  dumping  place  in  a  day.  Then 
they  computed  the  earning  of  one  cart  for  a  day,  and 
the  earnings  of  the  total  number  of  carts  working  hi 
the  block. 

The  pupils  in  Connersville,  Indiana,  who  undertook 
to  decide  whether  it  would  be  better  to  go  to  Oregon 
or  to  Georgia  to  engage  in  fruit-growing,  had  to  social- 
ize the  exercise  of  letter-writing  and  the  subjects  of 
geography  and  arithmetic  in  order  to  communicate 
with  railroad  companies,  and  agents  of  land  companies; 
to  determine  conditions  of  soil  and  climate,  also  trans- 
portation facilities;  and  to  compute  cost  of  transpor- 
tation, cost  of  land,  cost  of  cultivation,  of  yield  per 
acre,  of  probable  profit/and  the  like.  And  the  group 
of  pupils  in  the  same  city  who  undertook  to  select  a 
lot  and  plan  a  house,  the  cost  of  which  was  to  be 


146  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

kept  within  a  stipulated  amount,  had  a  most  socializ- 
ing experience.  The  prices  of  real  estate  in  their  own 
city,  the  desirability  of  locations,  the  way  excavations 
are  computed,  how  masonry  is  laid  and  what  it  costs, 
making  contracts,  the  purchase  and  cost  of  materials, 
even  to  the  electric  wiring,  were  all  a  part  of  their  edu- 
cation in  connection  with  this  series  of  problems. 

The  study  of  foreign  languages,  whether  ancient  or 
modern,  contains  possibilities  of  contributing  to  social 
insight  and  interest  if  it  be  so  considered  that,  instead 
of  being  a  mere  exercise  in  translation,  composition, 
analysis,  and  parsing,  it  is  made  to  throw  light  upon 
the  life  and  customs  of  the  peoples  among  whom  these 
languages  are  or  were  the  mother  tongue. 

c.  Organization  of  school.    Community  help.    A  third 
help  lies  hi  the  form  of  organization  and  the  helpful 
participation  of  pupils  hi  the  discipline  and  other  ac- 
tivities of  the  school.  A  fourth  possible  source  of  help 
lies  in  the  cooperation  of  parents  and  officials.  In  some 
communities  school  credit  is  given  for  practice  at  home 
of  cooking,  sewing,  gardening,  and  manual  training. 
With  help  from  parents,  such  an  arrangement  unites 
home  and  school  closely.   If  representatives  from  the 
various  municipal  organizations  can  be  secured  to  talk 
to  the  pupils  about  fire  prevention,  use  and  care  of 
parks,  how  pupils  can  help  the  department  of  street 
cleaning,  and  upon  similar  topics,  interest,  and  con- 
duct governed  by  interest,  are  quite  sure  to  result. 

d.  The  teacher's  own  spirit  and  attitude.  One  of  the 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  147 

greatest  helps  is  the  teacher's  own  attitude  toward, 
and  his  enthusiasm  in,  this  cause.  A  tyrannical,  carp- 
ing, critical  teacher  or  principal  renders  social  efforts 
useless.  He  is  out  of  sympathy  with  them  and  acts  as 
a  damper  to  all  enthusiasm  and  interest.  But  with 
interest  and  enthusiasm  present,  the  teacher  must 
employ  common  sense,  and  keep  the  pupils  within  the 
bounds  of  what  they  can  accomplish.  Too  rapid  ex- 
pansion usually  brings  failure  and  disgust.  "Slow  and 
steady"  is  better  than  allowing  enthusiasm  to  run 
away  with  even  a  good  cause. 

e.  Miscellaneous  helps.  There  are  several  miscella- 
neous aids  which  should  not  be  overlooked.  The  news- 
papers and  periodicals  present  much  valuable  material 
to  add  to  social  knowledge  and  interest  and  should  be 
used  for  that  purpose.  A  good,  up-to-date  bulletin 
board  is  very  helpful.  Pictures  are  often  very  revealing 
in  their  presentation  of  people  and  conditions,  whether 
prepared  by  the  artist  or  obtained  by  means  of  a  cam- 
era. The  stereopticon  and  the  moving  pictures  are  be- 
coming more  and  more  educational  in  their  use.  The 
stereoscope,  usually  of  easier  access,  is  also  an  excel- 
lent aid  in  imparting  knowledge  and  arousing  interest. 
Doubtless  the  teacher  will  be  able  to  suggest  a  number 
of  other  means  of  furthering  these  purposes. 

A  caution  is  possibly  in  order  in  closing  this  chapter. 
We  need  to  tram  pupils  to  lead,  to  cooperate,  to  serve 
school,  home,  and  community,  to  lend  a  hand  when  it 
is  needed.  But  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that 


148  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

there  are  frequent  occasions  when  every  member  of  a 
class  must  be  held  individually  responsible  for  the 
learning  of  certain  lessons  and  the  performance  of  cer- 
tain exercises.  These  cannot  be  delegated  to  some 
kind-hearted  friend.  They  must  be  done  by  each  for 
himself.  This  is  imperative,  and  we  must  not  overlook 
it,  otherwise  there  is  disintegration  and  confusion,  as 
some  have  discovered  at  a  heavy  cost.  Good  sense  is 
just  as  necessary  here  as  in  most  places,  and  must  be 
exercised  for  the  sake  of  the  class  and  the  school.  Each 
teacher  should  follow  some  lines  of  socializing  work 
with  his  class,  but  he  should  remember  that  the  pupils 
are  in  school  because  they  are  immature  and  need  help. 
They  must  be  kept  within  certain  limitations  both  as 
to  amount  and  methods  of  undertaking,  and  the  teacher 
must  be  a  partner  ever  to  be  reckoned  upon,  though 
he  may  at  times  be  a  silent  one. 

Summary .  (l)  The  socializing  exercises  are  intended  to 
give  insight  into  social  needs,  conditions,  and  customs;  to 
arouse  interest,  and  affect  the  attitude  of  the  pupils  toward 
society;  and  to  give  practice  in  social  service.  (2)  These 
exercises  may  take  the  form  of  classwork  and  study;  of 
school  activities  involving  cooperation  or  the  consideration 
of  others;  of  organizations  and  activities  which  function  out- 
side of  the  school.  (3)  In  accomplishing  the  desired  results 
the  teacher  may  employ  the  instincts  of  the  pupils,  the  sub- 
ject matter  and  supplementary  material,  the  school  organi- 
zation, the  cooperation  of  parents  and  of  public  officers,  and 
his  own  interest  and  enthusiasm.  He  should  resort  to  the  use 
of  newspapers,  periodicals,  pictures,  the  stereopticon,  stereo- 
scope, moving  pictures,  talks  from  officials,  and  other  means 


SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES  149 

of  gaining  social  knowledge  or  arousing  interest  and  shaping 
opinion.  (4)  The  necessity  of  work  from  the  class  as  a  whole 
and  of  individual  responsibility  should  not  be  overlooked. 

REFERENCES:  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  rv,  no.  2;  vol.  xm, 
no.  5;  G.  H.  Belts,  Social  Principles  of  Education;  Colin  Scott, 
Social  Education;  Briggs  and  Coffman,  Reading  in  the  Public 
Schools,  chap,  xxvi;  John  Dewey,  School  and  Society;  W.  C.  Bagley, 
Educational  Values,  chaps,  ix-xv;  John  Dewey,  Schools  of  Tomor- 
row; Teachers  College  Record,  Sept.,  1918,  pp.  319-35;  Teachers 
College  Record,  March,  1920;  W.  C.  Whitney,  The  Socialized  Reci- 
tation; M.  E.  Branom,  The  Project  Method  in  Education. 

EXERCISES 

1.  If  schools  are  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  society  and  not  a  prepa- 
ration for  life  in  society,  what  changes  must  be  made  in  them  to 
meet  the  situation? 

2.  Illustrate  the  socializing  of  arithmetic  through  its  subject- 
matter.  Through  the  method  of  teaching  it. 

3.  In  a  similar  way,  illustrate  the  socializing  of  composition. 

4.  Show  how,  through  resort  to  group  work,  much  more  subject- 
matter  can  be  studied  in  geography  than  would  otherwise  be 
possible.  What  effect  will  such  work  be  likely  to  have  upon  the 
interest  of  the  class? 

5.  Plan  three  entirely  different  assembly  exercises  which  are  to  be 
prepared  through  appeal  to  the  social  interests  of  pupils. 

6.  What  value  is  there  in  school  housekeeping  by  pupils,  aside  from 
the  fact  that  the  room  is  kept  in  order? 

7.  If  you  have  ever  observed  self-government  in  operation  in  a 
school,  tell  of  its  most  serious  faults  and  its  greatest  virtues  as 
you  saw  them. 

8.  Is  it  wise  to  give  pupils  no  responsibility  in  school  discipline? 
Is  it  wise  to  give  them  all  of  the  responsibility? 

9.  Some  pupils  have  a  capacity  for  leadership,  for  managing  people. 
They  sometimes  employ  this  capacity  in  harmful  ways.  Is  the 
capacity  one  which  should  be  suppressed  or  one  which  should  be 
utilized  in  helpful  ways?  Is  it  always  easy  to  utilize  it? 

10.  How  much  social  development  is  a  teacher  likely  to  accomplish 
in  his  class  who  himself  is  not  interested  in  social  conditions  and 
who  regards  his  teaching  merely  as  a  means  of  earning  a  salary? 

11.  How  can  the  subject-matter  relating  to  Argentina  be  socialized? 
Illustrate. 

12.  What  possible  social  content  is  there  to  the  subject  of  decimals? 


xn 

THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  AND  THE  INCREASE 
OF  SKILL 

Reason  for  such  exercises 

IN  addition  to  the  various  types  of  teaching  which 
aim  to  increase  knowledge  and  to  arouse  aesthetic  and 
social  appreciation,  there  are  school  exercises  which 
have  as  their  main  purpose  the  increase  of  skill  and 
the  rendering  of  certain  processes  automatic  or  habi- 
tual. In  regard  to  skill,  Thorndike  l  says :  — 

No  one  would  assert  that  skill  is  the  total  aim,  and  no  one 
would  deny  that  it  is  a  fraction  of  the  aim,  of  education.  The 
chief  facts  about  it  which  are  likely  to  pass  unnoticed  are,  its 
appropriateness  where  the  effort  to  give  knowledge  is  rela- 
tively wasteful,  and  its  service  as  an  impersonal  pleasure. 
Skill,  as  in  the  trades  or  household  arts,  can  be  got,  even  in 
high  degree,  by  boys  and  girls  who,  by  lack  of  capacity  or 
interest,  or  both,  can  get  little  knowledge  of  general  princi- 
ples. So,  in  proportion  as  schools  are  attended  by  a  wider 
and  wider  selection  and  retain  the  unscholarly  types  till  six- 
teen or  eighteen  instead  of  till  twelve  or  fourteen,  skill  be- 
comes properly  a  larger  and  larger  factor  in  their  proximate 
aims.  Skill  may  also  be,  for  almost  all  individuals  to  some 
extent,  a  source  of  impersonal  pleasure.  The  taste  for  work- 
manship —  the  impulse  to  do  the  job  as  it  should  be  done, 
making  a  first-rate  product  by  fit  means  —  is  one  of  the  most 
easily  developed,  but  also  one  of  the  best,  virtues.  It  is  com- 

1  E.  L.  Thorndike,  Education,  chap.  in. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  151 

monly  more  truly  cultural  or  refining  than  an  interest  in  cor- 
rect manners,  speech,  or  opinions  about  the  fine  arts,  because 
it  is  commonly  more  sincere  and  less  tainted  with  ostentation. 

Whether  we  become  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of 
water,  whether  we  become  artists,  or  whatever  our 
walk  in  life,  our  hope  of  getting  along  at  all  lies  in  learn- 
ing to  respond  in  definite  ways  to  the  situations  which 
daily  and  hourly  confront  us.  Fortunately  for  us, 
nature  has  so  constituted  us  that  we  tend  to  repeat 
associations  once  formed,  to  act  as  we  have  acted  be- 
fore; so  that  our  responses,  our  thoughts,  our  actions 
tend  to  become  habitual.  We  form  the  habit  of  asso- 
ciating ideas  with  things  in  the  outside  world,  as  when 
we  hear  a  series  of  sounds  and  think  "Star  Spangled 
Banner";  we  associate  ideas  with  other  ideas,  as  when 
we  think  "Star  Spangled  Banner,  battleship  in  the 
harbor,  lowering  the  flag,  sunset";  and  we  associate 
ideas  with  actions,  as  when  the  thought  of  sunset  leads 
us  to  turn  our  faces  to  look  at  the  sky.  Once  having 
associated  certain  objects,  ideas,  and  actions,  we  tend 
to  put  them  together  in  the  same  way  again,  as  shown 
by  the  illustrations  given. 

The  object  of  this  tendency  to  make  associations 
habitual  is  to  enable  us  to  master  our  surroundings,  to 
think,  to  communicate  with  others,  to  preserve  exis- 
tence, to  make  progress.  Since  the  school  is  vitally 
interested  in  all  of  these  purposes,  it  ought  to  further 
the  operations  of  this  very  important  native  tendency 
and  to  employ  it  whenever  any  phase  of  school  activity 


152  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

possesses  elements  which  should  be  made  automatic. 
Automatism  means  the  saving  of  time,  the  freeing  of 
consciousness  for  other  tasks,  and  may  be  made  to 
mean  a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  The  school  exercises 
which  have  for  their  object  the  rendering  of  certain 
associations  and  acts  automatic  are  called  drill  lessons. 

The  field  included  in  habit-forming  exercises 

Dr.  Rowe,1  who  has  treated  exhaustively  the  sub- 
ject of  habit-formation,  says:  — 

Of  the  subjects  taught  in  the  elementary  schools,  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  composition,  spelling,  singing,  drawing, 
and  other  forms  of  manual  work  have  habit-forming  rather 
than  information  as  their  direct  aim.  Nature  study,  geogra- 
phy, history,  and  civics  deal  rather  with  the  acquiring  of 
information,  the  organizations  of  facts.  Some  of  these  organ- 
izations need  to  become  automatic,  in  order  that  rapid  use 
may  be  made  of  them  in  relating  new  material,  and  others 
may  contribute  important  aid  in  the  formation  of  disciplin- 
ary or  moral  habits.  History,  especially,  without  furnishing 
much  material  for  direct  habit-formation,  indirectly  contri- 
butes abundantly  to  morality  and  the  habits  implied  in  char- 
acter by  making  concrete  the  ideas  underlying  such  habits, 
by  furnishing  initiative  through  suggested  motives,  by  mak- 
ing a  basis  for  practicing  habits  of  approval  or  disapproval, 
or  by  showing  the  painful,  serious,  and  unfortunate  results  of 
lapses. 

In  the  high  school,  language  subjects,  mathematics,  and 
the  arts  are  largely  habit-forming,  while  science,  history, 
literature,  and  the  like  are  informational,  with  occasional 
organizations  to  be  made  automatic. 

1  S.  H.  Rowe,  Habit-Formation  and  the  Science  of  Teaching, 
chap.  xui. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  153 

Any  subject  which  contains  elements,  whether  ideas 
or  acts,  which  may  be  used  as  responses  to  certain 
situations  without  one's  stopping  to  think  about  the 
matter,  possesses  to  that  extent  the  possibility  of  hab- 
it-formation and  of  drill  to  secure  the  habit.  In  learn- 
ing to  spell,  we  form  the  habit  of  using  letters  in  a 
certain  order.  In  learning  to  read,  we  associate  certain 
sounds  with  certain  letters  or  groups  of  letters,  and 
associate  meaning  with  written  or  printed  words  and 
sentences.  In  writing,  we  reduce  certain  movements 
to  the  stage  of  habit.  In  counting  and  in  the  multipli- 
cation table,  we  learn  numbers  in  definite  order  and 
also  in  combinations.  We  form  the  habit  of  thinking 
and  saying  42  when  we  see  6  X  7.  In  music  we  form 
the  habits  of  reading  the  signature,  of  reading  notes 
on  the  staff,  of  singing  as  notes  indicate,  of  making 
tones  of  certain  quality,  and  the  like.  In  composition 
we  acquire  habits  of  punctuation,  of  indenting,  of  us- 
ing capital  letters,  of  writing  paragraphs,  of  forming 
correct  sentences,  of  choosing  words  with  care,  and 
other  habits  peculiar  to  the  subject.  Committing  to 
memory  is  simply  another  phase  of  habit-forming, 
since  we  associate  words  in  an  order  which  we  there- 
after follow.  We  make  this  order  a  habit.  In  draw- 
ing, the  holding  of  pencil  or  brush,  the  stroke,  the 
manner  of  shading,  the  way  of  mixing  colors,  and 
other  details  are  all  possible  habits.  In  geography, 
the  interpretation  of  globes,  maps,  and  charts  is 
a  matter  of  habit,  as  is  also  the  learning  by  heart 


154  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

of  capitals,  rivers,  and  the  factors  which  influence 
climate. 

In  manual  training,  the  use  of  the  plane  reduces  to 
the  automatic,  as  does  the  use  of  thimble  and  needle 
in  sewing,  and  the  beating  of  batter  and  the  whipping 
of  eggs  in  cooking.  There  is  so  much  of  education 
which  consists  in  reducing  actions  or  associations  of 
ideas  to  the  automatic  state,  and  the  process  of  habit- 
forming  is  so  important  and  so  definitely  known,  that 
every  teacher  should  inspect  the  material  and  processes 
he  is  to  give  his  class  in  order  to  discover  what  part 
should  be  made  a  mental  or  physical  habit,  that  is, 
made  a  matter  of  mental  or  physical  memory. 

It  will  not  do  to  say,  "It  is  enough  if  the  pupils  once 
understand.  They  will  remember  if  they  understand." 
The  trouble  with  this  theory  is  that  it  usually  fails  to 
work.  Nor  will  it  suffice  to  leave  the  amount  and  kind 
of  drill  to  the  judgment  of  the  pupils.  This  procedure, 
also,  is  a  failure  when  viewed  hi  the  light  of  conse- 
quences. There  must  be  drill,  and  the  drill  must  be 
intelligently  conducted  if  certain  facts  are  to  be  learned 
as  permanent  possessions  and  if  certain  acts  are  to  be 
performed  automatically. 

Procedure  in  habit-formation 

In  lessons  to  form  habits,  as  in  other  exercises,  it  is 
essential  that  the  pupils  feel  some  reason  for  the  work, 
are  aware  of  a  motive,  in  order  that  they  may  bring 
intelligence,  interest,  and  energy  to  bear  upon  it.  If 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  155 

they  make  y's  poorly  or  slowly,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
make  them  realize  the  fact  and  to  want  to  do  better. 
They  know  if  they  spell  poorly,  if  they  write  numbers 
slowly,  if  certain  combinations  of  letters  are  always 
difficult  to  sound;  or  they  can  easily  be  made  to  realize 
it.  A  little  boy  in  a  first  grade  left  the  reading-line, 
went  to  the  blackboard,  and,  placing  an  accusing  fin- 
ger on  a  combination  of  letters  hi  a  word,  said,  "That 
always  sticks  me."  He  knew  his  difficulty  and  the 
drill  he  promptly  received  was  shared  energetically 
by  him.  A  third-grade  class,  at  the  close  of  an  exer- 
cise, in  which  the  cost  of  a  meal  for  a  needy  family  had 
been  computed,  was  asked  what  they  had  found  out. 
One  of  the  replies  was  that  they  needed  drill  on  the 
multiplication  table  of  6's.  Here,  again,  was  conscious- 
ness of  a  definite  lack  or  need.  Making  pupils  con- 
scious of  the  purpose  or  motive  of  the  drill  exercise  is 
the  first  step  to  be  taken. 

The  sources  of  motive  are  varied.  As  indicated  in 
the  preceding  paragraph,  one  source  is  the  realization 
of  a  definite  practical  need.  Children  are  aware  of  the 
need  of  accuracy  and  rapidity  in  number  combinations 
in  order  to  distribute  supplies;  to  make  plans  for  gar- 
den plots;  to  measure  materials  for  manual  work  and 
compute  its  cost;  to  solve  such  problems  as  those  in- 
volved in  dealing  Vith  snow  removal  and  the  fire  de- 
partment as  discussed  in  another  chapter.  They  wish 
to  write  well  enough  to  be  able  to  write  notes  to  their 
parents;  hence  the  necessity  of  drill  to  bring  this  about. 


156  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

They  must  read  well  to  make  out  the  interesting  sto- 
ries or  to  be  permitted  to  visit  another  class  and  read 
a  story  to  it;  therefore  they  must  practice.  The  class 
in  geography  may  need  a  drill  lesson  because  of  inabil- 
ity to  read  maps  readily,  to  interpret  isothermal  lines, 
or  to  apply  the  factors  influencing  climate.  They  can 
be  made  aware  of  this  need  and  usually  know  their 
weakness  quite  as  well  as  the  teacher.  They  know, 
too,  that  they  cannot  write  numbers  accurately  and 
that  many  errors  are  due  to  that  fact;  that  they  cannot 
read  music  rapidly  and  that  accidentals  in  music  are  a 
calamity.  If  asked,  "What  is  the  trouble?"  they  are 
usually  ready,  like  the  small  boy  with  his  hard  word, 
to  point  out  definitely  the  thing  they  need.  Sometimes 
this  need  is  practical,  as  hi  the  instances  cited;  some- 
times it  is  aesthetic .  The  thing  done  does  not  come 
up  to  the  ideal,  as  hi  the  quality  of  lines,  the  applying 
of  colors,  the  composition  of  pictures,  the  formation 
of  good  paragraphs,  the  writing  of  a  good  introduction. 
One  may  work  accurately  and  rapidly  and  still  fail  of 
aesthetic  quality  in  the  product.  Here  again  is  a  mo- 
tive in  realizing  the  discrepancy  between  what  one  has 
done  and  what  one  ought  or  would  like  to  do. 

Children  will  expend  great  amounts  of  interest, 
energy,  and  time  in  drilling  on  material  that  is  to  be 
used  in  some  land  of  competitive  exercise  such  as  a 
spelling-match.  They  will  drill  on  lists  of  countries 
and  capitals,  on  events  and  dates  in  history,  and  on 
any  material  which  can  be  employed  so  as  to  pit  one 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS 


157 


group  of  pupils  against  another.  Pupils  have  been 
known  to  practice  vigorously  so  that  they  might  lower 
the  time  in  which  their  row  in  school  could  spell  a  hun- 
dred words  and  so  beat  all  the  other  rows.  This  class 
was  fairly  accurate,  but  was  very  slow  in  oral  spelling. 
This  exercise  cured  the  defect.  Competition  of  group 
against  group  is  a  very  effective  motive  for  drill. 

A  pupil  will  often  work  to  improve  his  own  record, 
thus  competing  with  himself  through  practice.  The  ac- 
companying device  is  effec- 
tive with  some  children: — 

A  pupil  who  needs  drill 
in  spelling  is  given  a  card 
with  a  diagram  similar  to 
the  figure  drawn  on  it  so 
that  he  can  indicate  his  own 
standing  every  day  for  a 
week.  On  the  diagram  here 
given  it  is  supposed  that 
the  pupil's  standing  on 

Mon         rno,         wed.         'lour,       ra. 

Monday  was  60  per  cent. 

A  cross  is  placed  on  the  vertical  line  for  Monday  beside 
the  number  60.  On  Tuesday,  the  standing  is  80.  The 
pupil  places  a  cross  on  the  vertical  line  for  Tuesday 
opposite  the  80  and  draws  the  line  from  the  Monday's 
record  to  the  Tuesday's  record  to  show  the  direction 
he  has  traveled.  On  Wednesday  his  grade  is  90.  Again 
he  places  the  cross  and  draws  the  line,  which  still  as- 
cends. On  Thursday,  for  some  reason,  his  standing  is 


158  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

80,  and  he  must  draw  his  line  down  instead  of  up.  The 
chances  are  that  the  line  next  day  will  again  ascend, 
as  people  would  usually  rather  record  a  good  standing 
for  themselves  than  a  poor  one  and  will  in  consequence 
work  to  make  this  possible.  Self -competition  is,  there- 
fore, a  motive  not  to  be  overlooked  in  the  effort  to 
secure  drill  from  young  people.  The  teachers  in  a  cer- 
tain city  keep  the  Ayers'  scale  in  penmanship  posted 
in  their  rooms,  and  the  pupils  take  their  own  work  up 
to  the  scale  as  it  hangs  on  the  wall,  and,  by  compari- 
son, decide  where  they  belong.  They  do  this,  at  times, 
without  direction  from  the  teacher,  thus  showing  their 
interest  in  their  own  degree  of  skill. 

Approval  of  the  teacher  or  parents,  or  others  whose 
opinion  is  esteemed,  is  a  motive  with  many  pupils  for 
drill  in  order  to  become  more  accurate  or  more  rapid 
in  execution,  or  to  produce  a  more  beautiful  result. 
We  all  like  approval  in  some  form,  and  children  are 
very  susceptible  to  its  influence.  A  word,  a  look,  the 
posting  of  a  good  piece  of  work  for  classmates  to  see 
it,  relieving  from  further  practice  in  the  exercise  mas- 
tered, granting  some  special  duty  or  activity  as  a  mark 
of  approval  of  effort  and  accomplishment,  —  these  are 
some  of  the  ways  in  which  recognition  may  be  shown 
when  a  pupil  has  produced  an  excellent  piece  of  work 
or  has  improved  upon  one  that  was  unsatisfactory. 
The  same  form  of  approval  will  probably  not  appeal 
equally  to  all  pupils,  and  consequently  the  teacher  will 
find  it  wise  to  note  the  forms  which  make  the  strongest 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  159 

appeal  to  the  pupils  who  especially  need  to  put  forth 
effort  in  the  form  of  drill. 

Making  a  good  record,  either  because  of  pride  in  the 
record  or  for  the  sake  of  advancement,  is  a  motive 
commonly  urged  as  a  motive  for  practice.  Pupils  are 
pushed  through  drill  exercises  in  order  that  they  may 
be  prepared  for  promotion.  They  cannot  "pass  "  unless 
they  achieve  a  certain  degree  of  excellence,  and  this  they 
must  gain  through  practice.  This  is  by  no  means  the  best 
motive  to  employ,  but  it  sometimes  rouses  the  neces- 
sary energy  and  effort  when  other  appeals  have  failed. 

There  are  still  other  possibilities  in  the  way  of  moti- 
vating drill  exercises.  The  sources  given  do  not  ex- 
haust the  list.  A  final  source,  possibly  the  teacher's 
last  resort,  is  stern  necessity.  When  some  pupils  re- 
main untouched  by  the  motive  which  stirs  all  ether 
members  of  the  class,  then  these  must  put  forth  effort 
at  improvement  just  because  they  must.  A  certain 
degree  of  achievement  should  be  attained  by  all  normal 
pupils,  and  a  miniature  Achilles  cannot  be  permitted 
to  sulk  idly  in  his  tent  simply  because  he  does  not  care 
whether  he  can  read,  write,  spell,  work  arithmetic 
examples,  or  perform  other  labors  which  society  through 
its  schools  sets  for  him  to  do. 

The  second  step  in  drill  is  making  clear  what  is  to 
be  done.  If  pupils  write  figures  slowly,  they  should 
know  that  a  specific  drill  exercise  is  intended  to  in- 
crease their  rapidity.  If  they  have  difficulty  in  carry- 
ing in  addition,  the  process  should  be  made  clear  in 


160  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

some  way  before  the  drill  exercise  for  facility  begins. 
If  pupils  read  in  jerky  fashion,  the  desired  mode  of 
reading  should  be  presented  so  that  the  children  may 
know  how  they  are  to  read  in  the  practice  exercise. 
If  letters  are  poorly  formed  or  joined,  the  exact  diffi- 
culty must  be  made  clear  and  correct  forms  shown,  so 
that  pupils  may  practice  intelligently.  Whatever  the 
form  of  the  drill  exercise,  the  pupils  should  know  what 
they  are  to  do.  It  is  not  always  sufficient  for  them  to  see 
what  is  wrong:  they  must  see,  also,  what  the  correct 
form  or  idea  is.  They  must  know  the  more  excellent 
way.  It  sometimes  does  more  harm  than  good  to  show 
the  incorrect  form  and  to  warn  against  its  use.  It  is 
more  helpful  to  show  the  correct  usage  and  to  say, 
"Do  this."  Teachers  often  say  to  a  pupil,  "You  did 
not  read  that  well.  Read  it  again";  and  the  pupil  has 
no  guide  as  to  how  he  should  improve.  Writing  in- 
correctly spelled  words  or  ungrammatical  expressions 
on  the  blackboard  as  forms  to  be  avoided  is  still  a 
common  procedure.  Faulty  illustrations  should  be 
replaced  or  at  least  supplemented  by  examples  of  cor- 
rect procedure,  in  order  that  the  pupils  may  apply 
energy  at  the  right  place. 

The  time  required  to  bring  to  mind  a  feeling  of  need 
or  of  purpose  in  a  drill  exercise  and  of  making  the 
pupils  aware  of  what  is  to  be  done  does  not  usually 
occupy  much  time.  A  few  minutes  frequently  suffice 
for  the  preparatory  work,  and  then  the  class  is  ready 
for  the  drill  itself,  —  the  habit-forming  process. 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  161 

The  laws  of  habit-formation 

Professor  James  l  gives  the  first  law  of  habit-for- 
mation thus:  "We  must  take  care  to  launch  ourselves 
with  as  strong  and  decided  an  initiative  as  possible" 
This  strong  initiative  is  provided  for  in  the  prepara- 
tory work,  in  which  the  purpose  is  seen,  the  idea  of 
what  is  to  be  done  is  clarified,  and  interest  and  energy 
are  appealed  to. 

The  second  rule  given  by  Professor  James  is,  "Never 
suffer  an  exception  to  occur  till  the  new  habit  is  securely 
rooted  in  your  life."  In  other  words,  keep  living  up  con- 
sistently to  the  thing  which  is  to  be  made  automatic. 
It  is  the  frequent  fate  of  New  Year's  resolutions  to  fall 
by  the  way  in  a  short  time  because  the  people  who 
make  them  presently  begin  to  make  exceptions  and 
soon  find  themselves  back  in  the  old  habit.  The  reason 
why  some  men  who  smoke  have  to  swear  off  so  often 
is  that  they  make  exceptions  to  the  habit  of  refraining 
from  tobacco  before  the  habit  of  self-denial  is  firmly 
enough  fixed  to  make  exceptions  safe.  If  one  is  seek- 
ing to  fix  the  habit  of  working  neatly,  accurately,  and 
promptly,  if  he  is  striving  for  correct  posture,  or  is 
endeavoring  to  substitute  good  habits  of  speech  for 
poor  ones,  one  cannot  safely  indulge  in  the  old  habits 
part  of  the  time.  The  new  forms  must  be  employed 
consistently.  Physiologically  the  breaking-off  of  an  old 
habit  and  the  forming  of  a  new  one  mean  the  discon- 
tinuance of  one  line  of  connections  through  the  nerve 
1  William  James,  Talks  to  Teachers,  chap.  VIH. 


162  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

fibers  and  the  formation  of  another.  Relapses  from 
the  new  line  of  connections  mean  that  the  old  one  is 
again  followed  and  is  strengthened  by  renewed  use. 
To  yield  to  an  old  habit,  to  say,  "I'll  do  it  just  this 
once,"  is  often  to  break  down  with  one  act  the  barrier 
of  resistance  which  has  been  painfully  reared  against 
undesirable  modes  of  thought  and  action.  Then  the  old 
sweep  in  upon  us  like  a  flood  resuming  its  former  chan- 
nel. The  indulgence  is  always  recorded  in  the  nervous 
system,  whether  conscience  is  willing  to  forgive  or  not. 
Then,  too,  there  is  the  frequent  consequence  of  becom- 
ing discouraged,  after  several  lapses,  and  saying,  "It 
is  of  no  use  to  try  again."  The  safer  plan  by  far  is  to 
suffer  no  exceptions. 

The  third  law  is,  "Seize  the  very  first  possible  oppor- 
tunity to  act  on  every  resolution  you  make,  and  on  every 
emotional  prompting  you  may  experience  in  the  direc- 
tion of  ilie  habits  you  aspire  to  gain."  This  law  is  known 
as  the  law  of  repetition.  Its  purpose  is  to  give  control 
over  the  new  form  of  activity  and  so  fix  it  in  the  nerves 
and  muscles  of  the  body  that  it  will  presently  operate 
of  itself  without  the  direction  of  consciousness. 

If  the  use  of  a  tool  is  to  be  learned,  a  correct  pro- 
nunciation acquired,  a  good  posture  made  habitual,  or 
the  habit  fixed  of  thinking  letters,  words,  or  figures  in 
definite  combinations  as  in  spelling,  memorizing  poetry, 
or  thinking  of  ten  when  seven  and  three  are  added,  the 
ideas  or  acts  or  whatever  is  to  be  thus  fixed  in  mind, 
nerves,  and  muscles  must  be  repeated  in  correct  order 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  163 

and  must  be  repeated  often  enough  to  make  it  a  part 
of  one's  life.  In  addition  to  suffering  no  exceptions 
when  the  opportunity  offers  for  using  the  new  mode  of 
acting  and  thinking,  this  mode  must  be  made  auto- 
matic by  drill  devoted  to  that  purpose. 

One  cannot  say  just  how  much  drill  there  should  be, 
since  the  amount  is  determined  by  several  factors.  If 
the  effort  at  mastering  a  new  habit,  at  increasing  skill, 
results  in  pleasure  to  the  individual  who  is  working, 
the  amount  of  drill  necessary  to  master  is  diminished. 
If  a  boy  knew  that  he  could  go  fishing  or  swimming 
or  to  the  moving-picture  show  as  soon  as  he  had  learned 
to  recite  the  multiplication  table  of  9's  or  to  spell  a 
list  of  fifty  words  correctly,  the  time  devoted  to  drill 
would  probably  not  need  to  be  very  long.  Then,  too, 
the  amount  of  energy  and  enthusiasm  expended  in 
forming  the  new  habit  influences  the  amount  of  time 
necessary  to  complete  the  process.  One  may  dislike 
memorizing,  but  may  go  at  the  task  with  such  vim 
that  it  is  soon  accomplished  and  the  number  of  repe- 
titions necessary  greatly  diminished.  In  learning  to 
spell  the  word  separate  with  a  instead  of  e  in  the  sec- 
ond syllable,  the  learning  may  be  hastened  by  making 
the  a  emphatic  either  by  saying  it  with  more  force  than 
the  other  letters,  by  writing  it  more  heavily,  by  under- 
scoring it,  or  by  some  other  means  expending  unusual 
effort  on  it. 

One  of  the  most  costly  and  least  effective  modes  of 
learning  is  repetition  which  lacks  special  motive  and 


164  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

interest,  and  which  is  performed  with  little  outlay  of 
attention  or  energy.  What  is  made  into  habit  or  com- 
mitted to  memory  in  this  way  is  acquired  through 
many  repetitions.  The  process  is  time-consuming;  it 
lacks  intelligence;  and  we  cannot  be  sure  that  the  re- 
sults will  be  used  as  they  should  when  occasions  de- 
mand them.  Much  of  this  kind  of  memorizing  per- 
sists in  the  schools.  Spelling,  writing,  arithmetical 
combinations,  as  the  multiplication  tables,  conjuga- 
tions, declensions,  rules,  definitions,  gymnastics,  and 
other  lessons  demanding  drill  are  frequently  conducted 
as  exercises  in  repetition  without  definite  purpose  on 
the  pupils'  part,  without  much  interest  or  attention, 
and  without  calling  forth  the  energy  which  would  cut 
the  process  short  and  fix  the  results  more  certainly. 

The  necessity  of  attention 

Probably  most  of  us  used  copy  books  in  our  early 
school  days.  We  wrote  the  first  two  or  three  lines  on 
each  page  fairly  well,  and  then  the  work  began  to 
deteriorate  until  the  last  line  was  the  worst  one  on  the 
page.  If  repetition  alone  were  an  effective  agent  in 
increasing  skill,  the  last  line  would  have  been  the  best 
in  every  instance.  Another  element  must  be  added  to 
it  to  insure  gain,  and  that  is  attention.  One  must  at- 
tend to  what  he  is  doing;  he  must  compare  each  effort 
with  the  model,  or  with  his  own  previous  efforts  to  see 
what  gains  are  yet  to  be  made  and  by  what  means  they 
can  be  accomplished.  Attention  to  the  motions  in- 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  165 

volved  in  so  simple  a  matter  as  handling  bricks  brought 
a  saving  of  effort  and  an  economy  of  time  that  years 
of  mere  repetition  never  evolved.  Repetition,  at  best, 
fixes  a  certain  mode  of  doing,  and  may  just  as  easily 
fix  a  poor  one  as  a  good  one.  Attention  to  the  process 
of  learning  shortens  the  time  of  making  acts  automa- 
tic; and  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  bring  about  im- 
provement in  ways  of  doing  things  —  to  increase  skill. 
Practice  alone  does  not  make  perfect,  but  practice 
with  attention  will  advance  the  learner  toward  that  end 
because  it  keeps  him  conscious  of  what  he  yet  has  to 
accomplish  and  makes  him  alert  as  to  possibilities  of 
improvement  in  his  methods  of  working.  The  pupil 
who  copies  figures  by  looking  at  one,  writing  it  on  his 
paper,  looking  at  the  next,  writing  that  one  on  his 
paper,  and  so  on,  can,  by  attending  to  what  he  is  doing, 
learn  to  see  several  figures  with  one  glance  and  remem- 
ber them  long  enough  to  write  them;  and  the  pupil 
who  devotes  attention  to  his  writing  exercise  can  more 
quickly  eliminate  his  errors  and  increase  the  control 
of  his  movements. 

Attention  to  an  object  or  process  cannot  be  long 
sustained  at  a  high  tension.  Experiments  have  shown 
that  it  fluctuates  even  when  the  people  under  obser- 
vation were  striving  to  keep  it  constant.  The  sugges- 
tion here  for  the  teacher  is  that  he  must  not  expect 
close  attention  to  one  form  of  drill  to  be  maintained 
for  a  long  period.  Several  short  periods  of  sharp,  vigor- 
ous drill,  with  interest  and  hearty  effort,  produce 


166  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

better  results  than  one  long  unbroken  period,  and 
there  is  not  so  much  fatigue. 

When  a  class  is  seemingly  wearied  and  listless,  a 
change  in  the  method  of  conducting  a  drill  exercise 
arouses  fresh  interest,  taps  a  new  store  of  energy,  and 
brings  back  the  wandering  attention.  The  forehanded 
teacher  will  have  various  devices  prepared  for  such  les- 
sons and  will  employ  them  judiciously.  Written  drill 
may  give  way  to  an  oral  one;  board  drill  to  seat  work; 
individual  drill  to  a  class  drill;  and  drill  on  facts  or 
processes  taken  by  themselves  to  facts  or  processes 
employed  in  a  game  or  other  setting.  If  the  attention 
and  interest  can  be  held  by  one  kind  of  exercise  until 
the  object  of  the  drill  is  accomplished,  of  course  it  is 
not  necessary  to  vary  procedure.  Pupils  sometimes 
greatly  prefer  one  form  of  drill  to  others,  and  in  case 
this  preferred  form  is  effective,  it  may  as  well  be  con- 
tinued. It  is  useless  to  vary  just  for  the  sake  of  change. 
The  point  to  be  kept  in  view  is  efficient  drill,  and  when 
change  will  further  this  end,  its  introduction  is  justi- 
fied. 

The  necessity  of  accuracy 

When  incorrect  associations  are  made  or  wrong 
habits  of  acting  are  formed,  the  labor  of  learning  the 
correct  ones  later  involves  the  extra  difficulty  of  un- 
learning the  faulty  or  undesirable  habits,  and  of  break- 
ing up  the  associations  in  the  nervous  system  which  are 
the  basis  of  these  automatic  acts.  For  some  reason, 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  167 

undesirable  habits  seem  easy  to  acquire  and  hard  to 
get  rid  of.  It  is,  therefore,  most  desirable  that  teachers 
who  consciously  train  pupils  in  habit-formation  should 
take  pains  to  see  that  the  first  associations  are  correct, 
and  that  the  first  acts  are  those  which  are  to  be  fixed 
by  drill.  The  position  for  writing,  the  manner  of  hold- 
ing the  pen,  the  forms  of  letters,  the  forms  of  figures, 
the  order  of  letters  in  words,  the  utterance  of  sounds 
in  phonic  drill,  the  tones  used  in  singing  and  reading, 
reading  connectedly  instead  of  in  a  choppy,  word-at-a- 
time  fashion,  the  pronunciation  of  new  words,  the  num- 
ber combinations,  and  the  many  other  details  which 
should  become  automatic,  are  all  matters  which  should 
be  started  in  the  right  way.  To  say,  "Never  mind  for 
the  present.  That  matter  will  take  care  of  itself  by  and 
by";  or,  "When  the  pupils  are  old  enough  to  know 
better,  they  will  do  differently,"  is  to  disregard  the 
force  of  habits  when  once  they  are  formed,  and  the 
probability  of  their  continuing  as  they  are  begun. 
It  is  safer  far  to  begin  with  the  correct  habit  and  thus 
make  sure  of  it. 

Sometimes  accuracy  is  hindered  by  undertaking  to 
cover  too  much  ground  hi  one  drill  exercise.  The  man 
who  said  the  best  way  to  catch  a  flock  of  geese  was  to 
chase  down  and  catch  one  goose  at  a  time,  disregarding 
the  rest,  gave  good  advice.  Too  many  details  at  once 
distract  attention,  dissipate  energy,  and  defeat  the 
very  purpose  of  special  drill.  This  suggestion  applies 
both  to  presenting  new  matter  for  the  habit-forming 


168  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

exercise,  such  as  giving  new  words  to  be  pronounced 
or  spelled,  and  to  the  eliminating  of  errors  or  associa- 
tions already  formed,  as  in  correcting  compositions. 
It  is  better  to  overcome  one  or  two  at  a  time  than  to 
try  to  include  all  hi  one  exercise. 

Necessity  of  increasing  facility  and  rapidity 

When  the  correct  habits  have  once  been  started,  it 
is  often  necessary  to  consider  how  they  may  be  made 
to  operate  quickly.  It  is  not  enough  to  add  correctly 
in  everyday  life:  one  must  be  able  to  add  quickly  as 
well.  A  woman  who  wrote  a  Spencerian  hand  almost 
perfectly  was  so  slow  about  it  that  she  was  able  to 
write  comparatively  little.  Other  people,  whose  writ- 
ing was  not  so  elegant  but  who  wrote  more  rapidlv 
and  easily,  were  much  more  helpful  than  she.  Much 
time  is  wasted  because  we  do  not  drill  for  rapidity 
as  we  might  in  the  various  lines  of  automatic  respon- 
ses. Pupils  rise  slowly;  pass  materials  slowly;  spell, 
write,  and  work  arithmetic  slowly.  They  spend  far 
more  time  studying  than  they  should.  They  ought  to 
be  made  conscious  of  the  value  of  the  time  element 
and  made  to  shorten  the  time  as  much  as  they  can  and 
still  keep  the  product  up  to  a  high  standard.  It  ought 
to  be  a  matter  of  pride  to  spend  a  short  time  over  a 
lesson,  providing  the  lesson  is  well  prepared.  Compe- 
tition with  one's  own  record  or  with  other  pupils  should 
be  encouraged.  The  time  record  should  be  kept  for 
the  class  or  for  individuals  until  the  habit  of  prompt 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  169 

action  is  assured.  If  the  teacher  watches  the  various 
school  exercises,  he  will  discover  the  places  where 
there  is  a  leakage  of  time  and  can  then  stop  the  waste 
by  special  exercises.  It  is  worth  while  for  the  sake  of 
the  school  work  and  for  the  sake  of  the  effect  upon 
the  pupils'  way  of  working. 

Discontinuing  drill 

There  will  come  a  time  when  drill  may  be  discontin- 
ued, but  experience  shows  that  it  should  be  diminished 
by  degrees  and  not  stop  suddenly.  A  matter  is  not 
fixed  once  for  all,  as  we  know  to  our  sorrow.  Drills  on 
the  same  matter  must  be  given  from  time  to  time  with 
intervals  of  increasing  length  between  the  exercises. 
Professor  Thorndike  l  says:  — • 

For  any  one  habit  in  any  one  person  there  is  some  one  best 
distribution  of  time  over  the  series.  For  one  habit  or  set  of 
habits  it  may  be  best  to  give  ten  drills  of  twenty  minutes  for 
the  first  week,  ten  drills  of  ten  minutes  the  second  week,  ten 
drills  of  five  minutes  the  third  week,  five  drills  of  eight 
minutes  the  fourth  week,  and  one  drill  of  ten  minutes  each 
week  for  three  weeks,  and  then  one  drill  of  ten  minutes  a 
month  for  four  months.  Or  it  may  be  best  to  distribute  the 
460  minutes  in  a  very  different  way. 

The  drill  should  be  continued,  from  time  to  time, 
until  the  desired  association  or  habit  is  fixed.  To  stop 
short  of  that  point  is  practically  to  lose  the  time  and 
effort  expended  up  to  the  point  of  discontinuance. 

1  E.  L.  Thorndike,  Education,  chap.  ix. 


170  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Memorizing  a  habit-forming  exercise 

Reference  has  already  been  made  in  this  chapter  to 
memorizing  as  a  form  of  habit-making.  It  consists  in 
learning  things  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  meant 
to  recur  always  thereafter.  In  much  of  the  committing 
to  memory,  the  elements  are  joined  in  an  arbitrary 
manner,  as,  for  example,  the  letters  in  a  word,  the  let- 
ters in  the  alphabet,  or  the  numbers  in  counting.  They 
simply  have  to  be  memorized  as  they  are  through  any 
of  the  means  at  the  teacher's  command  to  make  the 
process  short  and  sure. 

Memorizing  poetry,  rules,  or  other  matter  possessing 
content,  is  quite  a  different  matter.  Here  the  symbols 
to  be  learned  in  a  definite  order  represent  connected 
thought.  Committing  to  memory  such  material  should 
follow  the  understanding  of  the  thought,  though  this 
order  of  procedure  is  often  neglected.  There  are  two 
reasons  why  thought  should  be  studied.  In  the  first 
place,  the  poem  or  other  selection  to  be  memorized 
is  chosen  because  of  the  value  of  its  meaning.  In  the 
second  place,  when  the  meaning  is  clear,  the  process  of 
memorizing  is  hastened. 

Nearly  two  hundred  teachers  were  asked  recently 
to  tell  in  writing  how  they  would  memorize  a  chapter 
in  the  Bible  or  a  poem.  In  describing  the  process  of 
memorizing  the  poem,  a  large  number  said  they  would 
learn  the  first  line,  then  the  second,  then  the  first  and 
second,  then  the  third,  then  the  first,  second,  and  third, 
and  so  on.  This  mode  of  teaching. poems  to  children 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  171 

can  be  seen  almost  daily  in  some  of  our  schools.  The 
meaning  of  the  whole,  the  natural  stopping-places, 
such  as  the  ends  of  thoughts,  or  thought-units,  are 
quite  disregarded.  If  teachers  will  go  through  the 
poem  as  a  whole  with  their  pupils,  talking  it  over,  get- 
ting its  meaning,  enjoying  it,  and  will  then  take  the 
lines  that  express  a  whole  thought  as  a  unit  to  be 
learned,  instead  of  one  line,  they  will  secure  better  re- 
sults. Thus  the  poem,  "Daisies,"  so  often  taught  to 
children,  offers  a  stopping-place  at  the  end  of  every 
two  lines,  as  can  be  seen  by  inspection.  It  is  often 
taught  one  line  at  a  time:  — 

DAISIES  1 

At  evening  when  I  go  to  bed, 
I  see  the  stars  shine  overhead; 
They  are  the  little  daisies  white 
That  dot  the  meadow  of  the  night. 

And  often  while  I  'm  dreaming  so, 
Across  the  sky  the  moon  will  go; 
It  is  a  lady,  sweet  and  fair. 
Who  comes  to  gather  daisies  there. 

For  when  at  morning  I  arise, 

There's  not  a  star  left  in  the  skies; 

She 's  picked  them  all  and  dropped  them  down 

Into  the  meadows  of  the  town. 

FRANK  DEMPSTER  SHERMAN. 

In  this  poem  each  pair  of  lines  answers  a  question, 
so  regular  is  the  arrangement.  In  the  drill  exercise 
if  the  teacher  asks  the  question  when  the  pupil  recit- 

1  From  Little-Folk  Lyrics,  published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Com* 
pany. 


172  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

ing  hesitates,  the  lines  which  answer  will  usually  come 
to  mind.  Some  of  these  questions  are:  What  does  the 
child  see  when  he  goes  to  bed?  What  does  he  think 
they  are?  What  happens  while  he  is  dreaming?  What 
does  he  say  the  moon  is?  What  makes  him  think  so? 
In  other  selections  the  length  of  the  thought-units  — 
that  is,  the  parts  which  are  complete  in  themselves  or 
so  nearly  so  that  they  afford  convenient  breaks  in 
memorizing  —  may  vary.  The  procedure  should  be: 
first,  to  study  the  whole;  second,  to  memorize  by 
thought-units;  third,  to  repeat  the  poem  or  selection 
until  it  is  thoroughly  committed,  making  the  thought 
a  basis  for  the  associations  as  far  as  possible. 

Learning  facts  which  belong  in  a  series 

Many  of  the  facts  to  be  memorized  are  arranged 
in  series,  and  others  can  be  so  arranged  in  order  to 
facilitate  memorizing.  The  alphabet,  the  multiplica- 
tion tables,  conjugations,  declensions,  lists  of  prefixes 
and  suffixes,  such  rules  as  the  one  in  Latin  for  the  verb 
compounds  which  govern  the  dative  case,  all  offer  a 
definite  arrangement  to  be  learned.  In  memorizing, 
all  the  numbers  of  the  series  should  be  learned,  and 
hi  the  order  in  which  they  regularly  occur.  This  does 
not  mean  that  a  pupil  will  memorize  the  alphabet  when 
he  first  enters  school.  When  the  time  comes  that  re- 
quires its  mastery,  it  should  then  be  learned  from  a  to 
z  in  order.  The  same  holds  true  of  the  multiplication 
tables.  Eventually  the  facts  of  the  various  tables 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  173 

should  be  learned  in  order,  though  the  table  of  10's 
may  be  memorized  before  the  table  of  7's.  The  teacher 
should  be  sure  that  all  the  members  of  the  series  are 
included,  and  that  they  are  memorized  in  the  correct 
order. 

The  step  of  application  as  habit-formation 

The  last  of  the  five  formal  steps  is  the  step  of  appli- 
cation. Its  purpose  is  to  make  the  learner  proficient  in 
the  use  of  the  new  knowledge  he  has  acquired  through 
the  preceding  steps.  If  he  has  just  learned  what  a 
noun  is,  he  is  to  identify  nouns  in  this  last  step  until 
he  knows  them  with  a  minimum  of  thought.  If  he  has 
learned  how  a  fraction  is  divided  by  an  integer,  he  is 
to  work  problems  involving  this  process  until  he  has 
mastered  it,  and  the  work  almost  performs  itself.  He 
either  acquires  proficiency  hi  some  process,  or  skill  in 
the  application  of  some  principle  or  other  form  of  gen- 
eral knowledge.  In  either  case,  drill  exercises  are  neces- 
sary to  insure  mastery.  The  suggestions  given  as  to 
amount  and  variety  of  drill  in  other  connections  apply 
to  drill  in  the  step  of  application.  It  is  because  this  fac- 
tor in  fixing  knowledge  and  processes  and  in  increasing 
skill  has  been  neglected  that  so  many  pupils  develop 
presently  into  a  state  of  intellectual  muddle,  and  in- 
efficiency. Facts  and  processes,  not  being  fixed,  fade 
out  or  become  confused,  until  after  a  time,  the  pupils 
possess  what  some  one  has  aptly  described  as  "mere 
tails  and  fins "  of  knowledge. 


174  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

Teaching  pupils  to  direct  the  formation  of  their  own 
habits 

The  formation  of  habits  in  young  pupils  should  be 
directed  closely  in  all  its  steps  by  the  teacher;  but 
finally  the  responsibility  can  be  shifted  by  degrees  to 
the  shoulders  of  the  pupils  themselves,  and  they  can 
be  made  aware  of  the  steps  which  should  be  followed. 
At  first  the  teacher  brings  the  motive  to  consciousness, 
makes  clear  the  facts  or  processes  to  be  learned,  and 
then  supervises  or  directs  the  practice  by  the  pupils. 
When  the  pupils  are  far  enough  advanced,  part  of  the 
drill  may  be  turned  over  to  them  to  perform  as  a  task 
outside  of  the  class  period,  the  teacher  inspecting  re- 
sults from  time  to  time.  The  time  should  come  when 
the  pupils,  once  seeing  what  is  to  be  done,  can  take 
charge  of  all  the  drill  necessary  to  perfect  themselves. 
When  they  know  how  to  use  the  dictionary,  the  teacher 
need  no  longer  give  the  correct  form  when  a  word  is 
misspelled,  but  can  direct  attention  to  it.  The  pupil 
must  then  find  the  correct  form  for  himself  and  per- 
form the  practice  required  to  fix  the  proper  spelling. 
This  applies  to  the  use  of  case  forms  of  personal  pro- 
nouns, the  agreement  of  verbs  with  their  subjects,  and 
other  facts  which  the  children  have  it  within  their 
power  to  discover.  When  they  are  able  to  find  these 
things  for  themselves,  the  responsibility  for  discovering 
the  correct  form  should  be  put  upon  them. 

Can  pupils  ever  learn  to  doubt  their  own  habits  or 
usages?  If  this  is  possible,  then  the  whole  process  of 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  175 

drill  can  be  turned  over  to  them.  Do  children  ever 
question  the  spelling  of  a  word  they  have  written,  the 
process  they  have  employed  in  solving  a  problem,  the 
grammatical  accuracy  of  their  own  speech?  Do  they 
ever  question  their  own  ways  of  working  and  wonder  if 
there  are  other  and  better  ways?  To  some  extent  they 
do,  and  possibly  they  can  be  trained  to  do  so  to  a 
greater  degree.  They  can  then  be  made  conscious  of 
the  entire  habit-forming  process  and  can  be  both  en- 
couraged and  required  to  employ  it.  They  should 
understand  that  they  must  see  clearly  what  is  to  be 
done;  that  they  must  give  themselves  practice  in  the 
operation,  putting  energy  into  the  process  and  watch- 
ing their  own  work  to  keep  out  error  and  to  bring  in- 
crease of  proficiency;  and  that  they  must  from  time 
to  time  repeat  the  drill  to  insure  the  retention  of  the 
newly  acquired  knowledge  or  skill.  Probably  few 
teachers  have  ever  attempted  this  advanced  training, 
but  that  does  not  necessarily  prove  that  it  is  either 
undesirable  or  impossible. 

Summary.  (1)  Since  many  processes  and  much  of  the 
knowledge  learned  must  be  reduced  to  the  form  of  habit,  and 
since  the  acquisition  of  skill  is  necessary,  drill  exercises  with 
these  ends  in  view  are  indispensable.  The  drill  is  essentially 
a  habit-forming  exercise.  (2)  Any  subject  which  requires  the 
learning  of  facts  in  definite  form,  the  mastery  of  processes, 
or  the  acquisition  of  skill,  involves  drill.  (3)  (a)  Motivation 
is  necessary  in  drill  not  only  to  direct  effort  but  to  secure 
interest  and  attention.  There  are  many  sources  of  motives 
or  reasons,  (b)  Definite  understanding  of  what  is  to  be  done 


176  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

is  the  second  step,  (c)  The  third  one  is  repetition  with  atten- 
tion. No  exceptions  should  be  permitted  until  the  new  habit 
is  established.  (4)  Attention  is  necessary  in  drill  to  avoid 
error,  to  shorten  the  time,  and  to  increase  skill.  As  attention 
weakens,  it  may  be  renewed  by  varying  the  exercise.  The 
period  should  not  be  prolonged  to  the  point  of  over  fatigue. 
(5)  Accuracy  hi  the  beginning  of  a  habit  is  essential  as  first 
impressions  and  associations  are  apt  to  be  lasting.  (6)  When 
accuracy  is  established,  facility  and  rapidity  should  be 
sought.  (7)  Drill  should  be  discontinued  gradually  and 
should  not  be  dropped  finally  until  proficiency  has  been 
attained.  (8)  Memorizing  is  fundamentally  the  formation  of 
habit.  It  should  be  based  upon  understanding  of  the  thought 
when  possible.  (9)  In  learning  facts  in  a  series,  the  series 
should  be  complete  and  the  exact  order  should  be  followed. 
(10)  The  step  of  application  involves  drill  to  fix  knowledge 
and  increase  skill  in  processes  learned  in  the  other  formal 
steps.  (11)  Pupils,  as  they  develop  in  intelligence  and  abil- 
ity, should  be  trained  in  the  process  of  drill  until  they  can 
assume  much  of  the  responsibility  for  it. 

REFERENCES:  E.  L.  Thorndike,  Education,  chap,  m,  also  chaps. 
VI  and  ix ;  W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  ed.  of  1912,  chap. 
xxiu;  W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  chap,  xxn;  S.  H.  Rowe, 
Habit-Formation  and  the  Science  of  Teaching,  chap,  xiu;  Strayer  and 
Norsworthy,  How  to  Teach,  chap.  nr. 

EXERCISES 

1.  In  a  certain  arithmetic,  arranged  on  the  so-called  spiral  plan, 
the  same  type  of  problem  occurs  on  every  tenth  page,  so  that,  in 
order  to  work  ten  examples  in  finding  interest,  the  pupils  must 
work  through  a  hundred  pages  of  the  textbook.  From  the  point 
of  view  of  habit-formation,  what  serious  defect  exists  in  such  a 
book? 

2.  Why  should  useful  processes  be  made  automatic? 

3.  Advance  at  least  two  arguments  for  the  increase  of  skill  on  the 
part  of  a  workman  or  artist. 

4.  Think  over  the  way  you  work  when  you  settle  yourself  to  study 


THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  177 

a  lesson.  Could  any  of  your  studying  habits  be  improved?  Sug- 
gest how  the  old  habits  can  be  broken  up  and  the  better  ones 
formed. 

5.  Sometimes  the  multiplication  tables  are  mastered  by  sheer 
weight  of  repetition.  Show  how  the  instinct  of  play  can  be  called 
upon  so  as  to  shorten  the  process? 

6.  Show  how  the  spirit  of  competition  may  be  used  to  bring  about 
the  formation  of  certain  desirable  habits. 

7.  We  are  told  that  we  should  examine  subject-matter  to  discover 
the  serial  order  of  the  facts  which  are  to  be  memorized.  Name 
such  a  series  of  facts  from  each  of  three  subjects. 

8.  What  habits  must  be  formed  in  penmanship?   In  geography? 
In  silent  reading?  In  oral  composition?  In  algebra?  In  physics? 

9.  The  satisfaction  which  results  from  having  performed  a  certain 
process  correctly  diminishes  the  number  of  repetitions  necessary 
to  make  the  process  a  habit.  How  can  a  teacher  cause  his  pupils 
to  experience  satisfaction  and  so  save  time  and  energy  in  habit- 
formation? 

10.  What  is  the  probable  basis  for  the  complaint  made  by  teachers 
each  autumn  that  their  pupils  must  have  been  poorly  taught 
because  they  do  not  know  anything? 

11.  Pupils  know  that  they  must  learn  the  multiplication  tables,  that 
they  must  learn  to  write  and  to  spell.  Why  employ  any  other 
motive  than  this  in  making  these  processes  mechanical? 

12.  How  much  drill  should  one  employ  in  fixing  a  habit? 

13.  Young  teachers  sometimes  continue  drill  until  a  process  is  per- 
fect at  the  time.   In  a  few  weeks  they  are  amazed  to  discover 
that  the  pupils  have  forgotten  or  have  lost  skill.   What  is  the 
cause  of  such  a  condition? 

14.  Write  a  list  of  helpful  suggestions  for  memorizing  The  Children'* 
Hour. 

15.  Suggest  two  or  three  habits  pupils  should  be  taught  to  employ  in 
connection  with  the  meaning  or  spelling  of  unfamiliar  words. 

16.  Give  examples  from  experience  or  observation  to  show  that 
repetition  without  attention  did  not  increase  skill  or  form  the 
desired  habit. 

17.  Interest,  repetition,  and  resulting  satisfaction  are  all  aids  in 
fixing  associations  and  in  forming  habits.  Which  of  them  tend 
most  to  enlist  the  activity  of  the  learner?  Which  of  them  are 
more  economical  of  the  time  required  for  drill? 

18.  How  are  the  rapidity  and  thoroughness  of  habit-formation 
affected  by  the  learner's  determination  that  he  will  form  a  spe- 
cified habit? 


XIII 

SCHOOL  EXERCISES  WHICH  INVOLVE  REVIEW 

What  is  meant  by  review 

THE  review  exercise  is  assuming  new  meaning  and 
importance  in  the  school  procedure  of  the  present  day. 
It  is  not  many  years  since  a  review  lesson  was  an  exer- 
cise in  which  pupils  passed  a  second  time  over  subject- 
matter  previously  studied.  Sometimes  they  re-read 
it;  sometimes  they  answered  questions  at  the  end  of 
the  chapter,  the  answers  being  taken  bodily  from  the 
text.  The  purpose  of  such  exercises  was  to  fix  facts 
so  firmly  in  mind  that  they  would  be  remembered  by 
the  learner.  We  have  come  to  regard  these  lessons  as 
drills,  since  their  function  is  to  make  certain  associa- 
tions habitual.  The  conception  of  the  nature  of  a  re- 
view lesson  differs  widely  from  this  view  once  preva- 
lent. 

When  ideas  or  ways  of  acting  are  recalled  to  the  mind 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  new  meanings,  new  re- 
lationships, or  new  ways  of  acting,  we  may  be  said  to 
be  reviewing  our  ideas  or  our  modes  of  activity.  Where- 
as in  drill  we  seek  to  make  automatic  the  connections 
already  established  between  ideas,  and  the  forms  of 
conduct  and  ways  of  doing  things  which  are  already 
started,  in  review,  we  are  looking  toward  the  estab- 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES  INVOLVING  REVIEWS    179 

lishment  of  new  relations,  the  influencing  of  old  activ- 
ities or  the  beginning  of  new  ones. 

We  establish  new  relations  when  we  gather  a  mass 
of  ideas  about  a  subject  into  different  groups,  basing 
our  grouping  upon  the  meaning  of  the  ideas  or  the  use 
they  serve.  Thus  we  may  review  all  the  facts  gained 
about  New  York  City  by  seeking  to  form  a  classifi- 
cation, and  may  place  in  one  group  all  ideas  relating 
to  occupations  of  the  people;  and  into  another  group, 
all  ideas  relating  to  parks  and  museums;  and  so  on 
until  we  have  completed  the  classification.  We  also 
establish  new  relations  when  we  gain  new  knowledge 
by  means  of  knowledge  already  possessed.  For  ex- 
ample, upon  the  basis  of  our  knowledge  about  angles, 
we  build  a  store  of  ideas  about  triangles  when  we  study 
geometry.  To  solve  a  given  problem  about  triangles, 
we  must  review  our  knowledge  of  angles  and  select 
the  relevant  facts  which  apply  to  our  particular  prob- 
lem. 

People  frequently  employ  a  poor  way  of  doing 
things  because  they  have  not  made  a  connection  be- 
tween the  form  of  activity  in  question  and  the  knowl- 
edge they  possess  which  might  help  them.  In  domestic 
science,  pupils  are  sometimes  taught  how  to  wash 
dishes  in  a  better  way  by  reviewing  the  knowledge 
which  gives  the  clue  to  the  proper  procedure.  "  What 
effect  does  heat  have  upon  the  yolk  of  eggs?  "  "  Should 
one,  then,  use  very  hot  water  when  washing  dishes 
which  have  yolk  of  egg  on  them? "  "What  effect  does 


180  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

cold  water  have  upon  grease?"  "How  about  using 
;old  or  tepid  water  to  get  rid  of  grease?"  "How  hot 
should  the  water  be  when  greasy  dishes  are  washed?" 
In  such  lessons,  established  habits  are  altered  through 
the  review  and  application  of  previous  knowledge. 
We  sometimes  insure  the  formation  of  right  habits  by 
getting  the  appropriate  knowledge  into  mind  in  time 
to  influence  the  first  performance  of  the  act  which  is 
to  be  fixed,  as  when,  hi  physical  training,  the  ideas  in 
regard  to  the  performing  of  certain  movements  are  re- 
called and  used  as  the  basis  for  the  development  of 
new  exercises. 

When  reviews  are  helpful  and  necessary 

There  is  a  fundamental  activity  of  the  mind  in- 
volved in  all  review  which  we  need  to  examine  in  order 
to  determine  when  reviews  are  necessary.  This  is  the 
process  of  apperception,  the  process  of  giving  meaning 
to  ideas  through  relating  them  to  other  ideas  which 
have  more  or  less  meaning  established.  Thus  some- 
thing growing  in  a  field  is  recognized  as  wheat  because 
it  is  related  to  an  established  idea.  Curiously  enough, 
the  "set"  of  the  mind  influences  the  associations  made 
among  ideas.  A  certain  sound  may  be  interpreted 
by  one  person  as  the  unloading  of  coal,  while  another 
may  interpret  it  as  the  grinding  of  stone  for  paving. 
The  same  sound  may  be  given  these  two  meanings  by 
the  same  person  at  different  times.  On  a  winter  morn- 
ing he  might  think  "unloading  coal."  If  the  street 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES  INVOLVING  REVIEWS    181 

were  being  repaired,  he  might  think  "stone-crusher 
at  work." 

The  point  in  what  has  been  said  is  that  we  always 
make  progress,  gain  meanings,  and  enrich  experience 
upon  the  basis  of  the  experience  already  possessed 
There  is  very  little  time  in  our  waking  hours  when  we 
are  not  attaching  meaning  to  ideas,  hence  apperception 
is  a  pretty  constant  process.  Since  education  is  a  con- 
scious attempt  to  reorganize  experience,  to  build  up 
knowledge,  to  influence  intelligent  activities  and 
modes  of  looking  at  things,  there  must  be  conscious 
recourse  to  this  process  of  apperception.  That  is,  there 
must  be  effort  directed  towards  influencing  the  asso- 
ciations made  among  ideas,  so  that  knowledge  may 
result  and  so  that  activities  based  upon  knowledge 
may  be  assured. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  "  When  are  reviews  help- 
ful and  necessary?"  the  statement  must  be  that  re- 
views are  necessary  and  helpful  when  the  ideas  which 
are  to  be  the  basis  for  understanding  would  not  of 
themselves  come  into  the  minds  of  the  pupils,  or  when 
these  ideas  might  not  come  in  such  form  as  to  make 
understanding  ready  and  complete.  Ideas  might  be 
recalled  in  part  only,  or  they  might  present  themselves 
in  such  disorganized  array  that  they  need  to  be  put 
in  order  and  freed  from  error.  Review  is  necessary 
to  insure  the  presence  of  the  correct  basis  for  the  proc- 
ess of  apperception.  In  any  form  of  school  exercise 
which  involves  interpretation  of  ideas,  whether  it  be  a 


182  -  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

process  of  thinking  out  the  answer  to  a  problem,  or  the 
application  of  ideas  to  some  form  of  activity,  review 
may  be  required.  If  we  examine  these  exercises,  some 
of  the  most  striking  occasions  for  the  use  of  review  will 
appear. 

Suggestions  for  conducting  review  exercises 

a.  Review  of  old  knowledge  to  form  basis  for  solution 
of  new  problem.  Instead  of  a  review  taking  place  at 
the  end  of  a  lesson  exclusively,  as  is  sometimes  the 
practice,  a  lesson  should  frequently  begin  with  a  re- 
view. In  the  step  of  preparation,  and  often  in  the  les- 
son assignment,  the  ideas  related  to  the  new  thought 
to  be  gained  and  necessary  to  its  understanding  should 
be  reviewed. 

It  has  long  been  the  practice  of  those  who  follow 
the  Herbartian  pedagogy  to  begin  a  teaching  exercise 
by  stating  the  aim  of  the  lesson  to  the  pupils.  With 
this  aim  as  a  clue,  the  previous  knowledge  related  to 
it  is  recalled,  and,  if  need  be,  made  clear,  and  organ- 
ized.1 The  necessity  of  having  an  aim  is  freely  ad- 
mitted, as  is  also  the  need  of  reviewing  relevant  ex- 
perience; but  the  idea  of  having  the  teacher  state  the 
aim  is  not  now  generally  accepted.  The  pupils  can 
be  made  to  feel  a  need  for  more  knowledge  or  for  a 
new  form  of  skill  by  being  made  conscious  of  a  lack 
in  then-  own  previous  experience,  and  this  shortage 

1  C.  A.  and  F.  M.  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the  Recitation,  chaps. 

VI.  XI. 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES  INVOLVING  REVIEWS    183 

can  be  made  apparent  through  a  review.  A  feeling  of 
need  can  be  aroused  for  something  which  the  review 
shows  to  be  lacking.  In  a  geography  lesson  recently 
witnessed,  the  pupils  in  summing  up  into  organized 
form  what  they  had  learned  in  a  previous  lesson  in 
answer  to  the  question,  "Why  is  San  Francisco  so 
important  a  city?"  found  that  they  knew  that  com- 
merce is  one  element  of  importance,  also  that  they 
knew  many  ports  from  which  ships  bring  cargoes  to 
San  Francisco.  They  did  not  know,  however,  very 
fully  or  very  accurately  the  nature  of  the  cargoes. 
This  deficiency  of  knowledge  betrayed  by  the  review, 
furnished  the  motive  for  a  succeeding  study  period, 
namely,  "  What  do  the  ships  from  Hawaii,  the  Philip- 
pines, and  other  countries,  bring  to  San  Francisco?" 

With  this  aim  established  as  a  motive  for  a  lesson, 
review  might  continue  in  order  to  bring  to  mind  what 
the  pupils  know  about  the  lands  which  trade  with 
San  Francisco  that  would  enable  them  to  work  out 
at  least  part  of  the  answer.  Another  review  would 
also  be  valuable  to  call  to  mind  the  sources  from  which 
information  bearing  on  the  question  could  be  ol> 
tained;  also,  the  way  to  obtain  the  facts  quickly  from 
the  sources  named,  that  is,  how  to  find  quickly  the 
chapter  or  map  needed  in  the  books  named. 

b.  Review  to  discover  whether  all  of  the  material  con- 
cerned with  a  problem  has  been  included  and  mastered. 
It  has  been  shown  that  reviews  are  helpful  in  develop- 
ing the  aim  of  a  lesson,  in  preparing  the  minds  of  the 


184  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

pupils  for  the  solution,  and  in  making  prompt,  accur- 
ate, and  independent  work  possible.  Reviews  cannot 
be  excluded  from  that  part  of  the  lesson  in  which 
knowledge  is  extended  or  new  activities  are  learned; 
that  is,  from  the  presentation.  One  might  liken  the 
mind  to  a  shuttle,  weaving  back  and  forth  among  ideas 
and  making  a  fabric  of  them.  To  be  thus  related,  it 
is  necessary  again  and  again  to  call  up  desired  ideas. 
Experience  is  being  reorganized  and  the  parts  to  be 
affected  must  be  brought  to  the  mind's  focus  hi  order 
that  they  may  themselves  be  altered,  or  that  they 
may  give  meaning  to  other  parts  of  experience.  Re- 
view cannot  be  limited  to  the  preparation  or  assign- 
ment. It  is  not  accomplished  once  for  all  or  in  its 
entirety  there.  It  often  does  not  include  all  that  is 
needed,  and  frequently  it  must  be  repeated  during  the 
course  of  the  advance  lesson. 

A  class  began  to  work  upon  the  problem,  "Would 
the  people  of  Old  England  who  settled  in  New  Eng- 
land feel  at  home  in  New  England?"  In  preparation 
for  the  new  lesson,  various  phases  of  New  England 
were  considered  as  that  part  of  the  subject  had  been 
studied.  Little  was  known  about  England,  but  what 
was  known  was  recalled  and  grouped  under  topics. 
In  the  advance  lesson,  information  about  England  was 
sought  for  and  as  facts  were  gained  they  were  grouped 
under  appropriate  headings.  Point  by  point  Old  Eng- 
land was  compared  with  New  England  to  discover 
whether  there  were  similarities  which  would  make  the 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES  INVOLVING  REVIEWS    185 

settlers  feel  at  home.  Review  in  such  an  exercise  meets 
one  at  every  turn.  "Certain  conditions  of  soil  and 
climate  are  found  in  England.  What  industries  may 
one  expect  as  the  result  of  these  conditions?"  As  sim- 
ple and  frequent  a  question  as  this  cannot  be  answered 
without  a  backward  mental  look  to  find  the  foundation 
experience  upon  which  to  base  the  answer.  We  must, 
then,  employ  review  frequently  and  wisely  to  insure 
a  thorough  presentation  and  understanding  of  the 
new  lesson. 

c.  Review  in  application  and  drill.  The  old  proverb, 
"Practice  makes  perfect,"  has  of  late  years  given  way 
to  the  psychological  maxim,  "Repetition  with  atten- 
tion makes  perfect."  Repetition  corresponds  very 
well  with  practice,  but  to  what  shall  one  be  attentive? 
To  a  model  or  ideal  of  some  kind  and  also  to  the 
work  being  done.  We  are  dealing  here  with  the  founda- 
tion of  habits  or  the  increase  of  skill.  The  first  step 
in  such  exercises  is  a  clear  idea  of  the  thing  to  be  done. 
This  may  be  secured  through  presentation  or  through 
the  recall  of  previous  ideas.  As  the  practice  is  to  be 
accompanied  by  attention,  by  frequent  comparison 
of  the  thing  as  it  is  with  the  model  to  be  equaled,  there 
is  again  a  constant  review  of  the  model  or  ideal.  This 
review  not  only  influences  skill,  but  it  serves  to  fix  the 
ideas  recalled  and  related  very  firmly  in  mind.  This 
statement  would  hold  true  of  the  ideas  reviewed  in 
any  step  of  a  lesson.  The  part  of  a  lesson  in  which 
associations  among  ideas  are  made  automatic,  and 


186  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

in  which  activities  are  reduced  to  the  stage  of  habit, 
is  known  as  the  application.  Through  it  we  seek  con- 
trol of  associations  and  activities.  As  has  been  shown, 
it  must  be  based  upon  the  right  idea  and  must  fre- 
quently refer  to  this  idea  if  results  are  to  be  satisfac- 
tory. Thus  the  child  who  tries  to  master  long  division 
must  review  again  and  again  what  he  is  to  do  as  he 
works  from  one  example  to  another.  The  student  in 
manual  training  who  is  working  from  a  drawing  must 
at  times  refresh  his  idea  of  what  is  to  be  done  by  re- 
viewing his  plan.  The  art  student  or  music  student 
reviews  constantly  the  instructions  of  the  master 
when  working  for  skill. 

Training   pupils  into  right    ideas    and    conscious 
method  of  review 

Review  must  be  accepted,  not  only  as  an  important, 
but  also  as  an  indispensable  element  in  the  various 
stages  of  teaching  and  of  study  as  here  set  forth.  It 
is  essential  hi  order  that  the  student  may  organize  his 
subject,  and  get  a  clear  view  of  it  hi  its  proper  order. 
In  studying  a  book,  it  is  often  advisable  to  read  a  chap- 
ter through  without  stopping,  in  order  to  get  the  gen- 
eral line  of  thought.  More  detailed  study  may  follow 
in  order  to  discover  the  mam  points  and  the  author's 
arguments  for  these  points.  As  a  test  for  himself,  the 
student  may  lay  the  book  aside,  write  the  proper  head- 
ing, and  then  outline  the  subject  for  himself,  basing  his 
organization  upon  his  own  view  of  the  subject.  This 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES  INVOLVING  REVIEWS    187 

independent  work  is  often  a  most  valuable  review  of 
the  author's  work  because  it  involves  both  agreement 
and  difference,  and  that  usually  means  a  good  under- 
standing of  the  text.  Material  presented  through  a 
series  of  lessons  in  class  should  be  similarly  reviewed 
and  organized  to  secure  intelligent  comprehension,  and 
also  to  aid  retention  in  the  mind. 

Pupils  in  the  grammar  grades,  or  high  schools,  as 
well  as  students  in  higher  institutions,  should,  in 
order  to  get  a  thorough  grasp  of  a  given  subject,  bring 
it  up  to  date,  so  to  speak,  by  stating  from  time  to  time 
the  main  topics  or  subjects  which  have  been  covered 
in  textbook  study  or  class  work.  The  whole  plan  of 
the  work  becomes  clear,  the  relation  of  part  to  part 
is  seen,  relative  values  are  established,  and  lines  of 
independent  thought  and  investigation  suggest  them- 
selves. Such  work  throughout  a  term  is  much  more 
valuable  than  a  season  of  cramming  at  the  end.  It 
results  not  only  in  knowledge,  but  also  in  power  to 
work  independently  and  effectively. 

General  suggestions 

a.  The  teacher's  preparation  for  a  review  exercise. 
The  teacher's  preparation  for  a  review  exercise  should 
be  as  carefully  made  as  the  preparation  for  any  other 
exercise.  The  preparation  itself  must  be  a  review  on 
the  teacher's  part  in  order  to  determine  what  experi- 
ence the  pupils  have  had  that  will  be  helpful  in  the 
approaching  lesson.  The  point  of  contact  between  the 


188  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

old  and  the  new  must  be  determined;  and,  since  corre- 
lation depends  partly  upon  the  set  or  state  of  mind  at 
the  time  the  ideas  to  be  considered  enter  consciousness, 
the  proper  background  should  be  included  in  the 
teacher's  planning.  The  success  of  any  review  exer- 
cise which  is  an  important  part  of  a  lesson  or  series  of 
lessons  will  depend  largely  upon  the  thoughtful  prep- 
aration of  the  teacher  and  upon  her  foresight  in  creat- 
ing the  right  attitude  and  spirit  for  it.  It  will  be 
affected,  too,  by  the  spirit  which  the  teacher  brings 
to  meet  the  class.  With  a  teacher  so  steeped  in  for- 
mality as  to  belong  to  the  type  described  by  Carlyle 
as  "dry-as-dust,"  a  review  is  quite  sure  to  be  a  per- 
functory affair.  Under  the  direction  of  a  teacher  who 
sees  in  it  a  means  of  mastery,  of  organization,  and  of 
furnishing  the  starting-point  for  new  investigation, 
and  who  realizes  the  value  of  interest,  a  review  may 
be  a  very  profitable  exercise,  which,  while  it  may  be 
difficult,  may  at  the  same  time  seem  worth  the  effort 
to  those  who  engage  in  it. 

b.  The  time  given  to  review.  Attention  is  called  to  the 
fact  that  reviews  are  often  a  part  of  other  exercises, 
but  that  they  sometimes  form  separate  lessons.  They 
may  require  only  a  few  minutes  of  time,  or  they  may 
occupy  one  or  more  recitation  periods,  —  the  latter 
only  in  the  case  of  older  students  who  need  to  review 
in  order  to  organize  their  facts  in  regard  to  a  large 
section  of  subject-matter.  The  time  spent  will  depend 
upon  the  nearness  of  the  material  to  consciousness, 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES  INVOLVING  REVIEWS    189 

upon  the  amount  of  it,  and  also  upon  the  amount  and 
kind  of  organization  which  already  exists.  The  mate- 
rial needed  for  a  new  lesson  may  have  been  so  recently 
in  mind  and  may  be  so  interesting  that  a  single  sen- 
tence of  suggestion  may  bring  it  to  consciousness.  The 
exact  time  needed  cannot  be  definitely  stated. 

c.  Profiting  from  reviews  as  tests.  In  the  attempt  to 
discover  how  effective  the  teaching  has  been,  teachers 
and  supervisors  sometimes  give  tests  or  examinations 
to  classes  which  compel  the  application  of  knowledge 
gamed  or  habits  formed.  These  tests  thus  constitute 
a  sort  of  review.  Frequently  the  percentages  obtained 
by  the  pupils  are  averaged  and  a  class  standing  is  an- 
nounced. If  the  average  is  seventy  per  cent,  or  above, 
the  teacher  is  satisfied.  Upon  the  class  standing,  what- 
ever it  may  be,  the  supervisor  rates  the  teacher's  abil- 
ity to  instruct  her  class.  Meanwhile,  what  about  the 
gaps  in  knowledge  revealed  by  the  test?  Suppose  the 
class  has  been  working  with  United  States  money, 
using  the  four  fundamental  operations.  A  test  made 
up  of  four  examples,  one  for  each  fundamental  opera- 
tion may  be  given.  After  the  papers  are  corrected, 
whether  the  class  average  be  discovered  or  not,  a 
teacher  should  look  over  the  papers  to  see  how  many 
and  which  pupils  failed  in  the  example  in  addition, 
how  many  in  subtraction,  and  so  on.  In  case  the  fail- 
ure is  due  to  some  difficulty  peculiar  to  reckoning  with 
United  States  money,  it  should  be  discovered.  The 
teacher  will  then  know  what  no  class  standing  can  pos« 


190  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

sibly  tell.  He  knows  which  pupils  need  aid,  and  also 
what  aid  they  need.  This  knowledge  justifies  the  test, 
and  from  it  both  teacher  and  class  should  profit  in  the 
teaching  which  follows.  Similar  reviews  conducted 
in  other  subjects  serve  to  improve  the  teaching  be- 
cause they  reveal  where  expected  results  have  not 
materialized,  and  where,  in  consequence,  effort  must 
be  directed. 

Summary.  (1)  The  purpose  of  reviews  is  to  establish  new 
relationships  among  ideas  by  means  of  a  basis  in  knowledge 
already  possessed.  Drill  differs  from  review  in  that  it  seeks 
to  fix  relations  already  established.  (2)  Reviews  are  helpful 
in  order  to  provide  the  proper  mental  attitude  for  apperceiv- 
ing  new  ideas,  in  order  to  influence  the  association  of  ideas, 
and  to  determine  activities  based  upon  ideas.  They  are 
necessary  when  the  ideas  might  not  come  into  consciousness 
of  themselves  when  needed,  or  when  they  lack  organization 
and  vividness.  (3)  They  may  form  an  element  in  any  part  of 
a  lesson  from  preparation  to  application.  They  cannot  be 
limited  to  any  one  part  of  a  lesson,  and  are  not  completed 
once  for  all.  They  must  be  given  as  needed,  whether  to 
provide  the  problem  or  to  organize  the  data  bearing  upon 
the  problem.  (4)  Pupils  should  be  trained  to  use  reviews  as 
helps  in  mastering  subject-matter.  To  test  mastery,  they 
should  reorganize  material  from  a  new  viewpoint.  To  keep 
track  of  a  series  of  lessons,  or  of  the  material  given  in  one 
lesson,  they  should  review  the  points  from  time  to  time  and 
establish  relationships.  (5)  The  teacher  should  exercise 
foresight  in  regard  to  reviews,  so  as  to  create  the  right 
attitude  for  the  lessons  based  upon  them,  and  to  insure 
their  employment.  They  may  otherwise  be  overlooked. 
Reviews  may  form  a  separate  lesson,  or  may  be  a  part  of 
another  exercise.  They  form  excellent  proofs  of  the  kind  of 


SCHOOL  EXERCISES  INVOLVING  REVIEWS  191 

teaching  which  has  been  done.  They  often  reveal  the  weak, 
nesses  and  the  ignorance  which  the  teacher  must  overcome 
in  later  teaching. 

REFERENCES:  W.  C.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  chap.  xxn. 
G.  D.  Strayer,  A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process,  chap.  ix. 

EXERCISES 

1.  Give  two  illustrations  to  show  the  difference  between  drill  and 
review. 

2.  Explain  how  a  review  exercise  may  be  a  valuable  examination 
lesson. 

8.  Show  how  in  the  history  of  the  Civil  War  the  organization  of  the 
subject-matter  necessitates  review. 

4.  In  a  geography  exercise  show  how  an  aim  or  motive  for  a  new 
lesson  may  be  developed  through  a  review  of  known  material. 

5.  What,  if  any,  review  is  necessary  in  answering  the  question. 
"Why  does  the  United  States  not  grant  self-government  to  the 
people  of  the  Philippine  Islands?" 

6.  What  facts  about  the  northern  part  of  South  America  should  be 
reviewed  as  a  preparation  for,  or  in  connection  with,  the  study 
of  the  equatorial  part  of  Africa? 

7.  What  connection  exists  between  the  process  of  apperception  and 
review? 

8.  State  all  the  reasons  you  can  think  of  for  reviews.  Did  you  do 
any  mental  reviewing  in  finding  these  reasons? 

9.  When  should  reviews  take  place? 

10.  Is  motivation  necessary  in  reviews?  Why,  or  why  not? 

11.  How  can  pupils  be  trained  to  conduct  their  own  reviews? 

12.  What  effect  would  you  expect  frequent  reviews  to  have  upon  the 
amount  of  drill  necessary  to  fix  facts  in  memory? 

13.  Which  do  you  consider  the  better  educated  person,  the  one 
who  has  memorized  many  isolated  facts,  or  the  one  who  has 
formed  many  connections  among  facts?  Which  of  these  results 
is  furthered  by  the  use  of  reviews? 


XIV 

TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY 

The  nature  of  study 

FOB  many  years,  a  common  complaint  urged  by 
teachers  was  that  their  pupils  did  not  study  as  they 
should.  An  investigation  of  the  teachers'  ideas  as  to 
how  pupils  should  study  revealed  so  much  ignorance 
and  difference  of  opinion  on  then*  part  in  regard  to 
this  very  important  matter  that  the  criticism  came  to 
include  teachers  as  well  as  pupils.  Teachers  in  college 
classes  must  themselves  be  taught  to  study  in  some 
other  way  than  memorizing  more  or  less  thoroughly 
the  contents  of  a  textbook  and  reciting  them  in  answer 
to  the  questions  asked  by  the  instructor.  In  opening 
the  discussion  of  the  study  lesson,  it  will  be  well,  there- 
fore, to  review  the  steps  which  observation  and  reflec- 
tion show  to  be  necessary  hi  study. 

In  a  lesson  in  which  habits  are  to  be  formed  and 
associations  so  fixed  as  to  function  automatically,  the 
steps  necessary,  as  explained  in  the  chapter  on  habit- 
formation,  are:  (1)  a  feeling  of  need  which  can  be  satis- 
fied only  by  learning  the  habit  in  view;  (2)  a  clear 
idea  on  the  part  of  the  learner  of  what  is  to  be  done; 
(3)  practice.  If  in  dividing  by  a  decimal,  pupils  are 
to  multiply  both  dividend  and  divisor  by  ten,  one 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  193 

hundred,  or  some  other  number  obtained  by  using 
tens  as  factors,  in  order  to  eliminate  the  decimal  in 
the  divisor,  the  idea  of  the  process  must  be  made  clear 
to  them;  there  must  be  attentive  repetition  of  the 
process  to  insure  mastery  of  the  idea  and  to  start  the 
process  correctly;  the  process  must  be  employed  until 
facility  is  assured. 

In  much  studying,  however,  the  work  to  be  done  is 
of  a  very  different  nature.  In  the  various  forms  of 
teaching  exercises  described  in  this  book,  we  have 
found  the  starting-point  to  be  the  realization  of  some 
need  to  be  satisfied,  some  problem  to  be  solved.  This 
consciousness  of  an  end  to  be  reached  is  the  starting- 
point  of  purposive,  or  logical,  thinking.  Since  study 
in  its  higher  form  involves  thinking,  its  beginning, 
also,  must  lie  hi  the  feeling  of  need,  in  seeing  that  some 
end  not  now  present  must  be  reached.  In  other  words, 
study  originates  in  the  consciousness  of  a  motive  and 
this  we  call  the  first  step  in  the  process.  In  a  city  where 
the  milk  supply  is  found  to  be  unsatisfactory,  a  dis- 
cussion of  that  fact  with  its  results  might  lead  to  the 
question,  "What  measures  can  be  taken  to  insure  san- 
itary milk?"  Here  is  a  problem  as  definite  as  finding 
the  area  of  a  triangle  of  given  base  and  altitude,  or 
reckoning  the  interest  on  ten  thousand  dollars  for  four 
years  at  five  and  one  hah*  per  cent,  or  finding  why  the 
days  and  nights  are  so  long  in  the  polar  regions. 

With  the  mind  directed  thus  definitely  toward  an 
end,  other  steps  in  the  process  of  studying  follow  quite 


194  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

naturally.  One  begins  to  guess  or  theorize  as  to  what 
the  explanation  may  be.  In  other  words,  he  makes  an 
hypothesis.  He  collects  information  bearing  on  hL 
problem.  He  may  draw  from  his  own  experience,  he 
may  think  out  the  answer,  he  may  consult  other  peo- 
ple, he  may  read  books,  he  may  observe,  or  he  may  ex- 
periment. In  the  problems  suggested  in  the  last  para- 
graph he  may  employ  all  of  these  sources  in  collecting 
the  data  needed  to  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  result. 
Many  times,  the  thought  material  collected  must  be 
grouped  into  classes  in  order  to  bring  out  its  full  sig- 
nificance and  to  enable  the  learner  to  master  his  work 
in  orderly  fashion.  Under  the  topic  of  sanitary  milk 
supply  there  would  be  several  large  headings  with 
various  subheadings;  e.g.,  milk-production,  transpor- 
tation of  milk,  distribution  of  milk,  care  of  milk  in  the 
home,  etc. 

Frequently,  too,  in  study  it  is  necessary  to  examine 
data,  whether  in  the  form  of  book  material  or  oral 
statements,  with  great  care  to  see  whether  they  are 
accurate  and  whether  one  may  safely  accept  them.  A 
certain  well-known  writer  on  physiology  and  hygiene 
purposely  makes  startling  statements  contrary  to  fact 
with  the  express  idea  of  rousing  people  to  thoughtful 
antagonism.  Unless  we  are  accustomed  to  exercising 
careful  scrutiny  of  the  facts  bearing  on  our  aim,  we  are 
likely  to  believe  much  that  is,  to  say  the  least,  mis- 
leading. 

Another  element  in  the  right  kind  of  study  is  the 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  195 

practice  of  not  stating  a  final  conclusion  when  the 
facts  do  not  warrant  one.  Our  best  scientists  frankly 
say,  in  regard  to  many  of  the  problems  with  which 
they  are  struggling,  "We  do  not  as  yet  possess  enough 
knowledge  to  enable  us  to  state  a  positive  conclusion"; 
or,  "As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  discover,  the  indi- 
cations are  that  so  and  so  is  the  case,  but  no  one 
knows  definitely."  They  are  studying  scientifically 
and  they  refuse  to  commit  themselves  to  final  conclu- 
sions until  the  evidence  is  beyond  all  question.  This 
deferring  of  judgment  is  indispensable  in  accurate 
study. 

But  unverified  and  unapplied  theories  and  solu- 
tions to  problems  are  not  final.  They  must  be  put  to 
the  test  of  use  in  either  real  or  imagined  situations  to 
determine  their  adequacy  to  meet  the  difficulty  or  the 
need  which  started  the  studying  process.  At  times, 
the  experience  of  others  in  whom  we  have  confidence 
is  sought  to  learn  whether  their  conclusions  corrobor- 
ate our  own.  For  example,  the  student  who  has 
worked  out  an  independent  solution  of  a  problem  in 
higher  mathematics  consults  the  answer  in  the  book, 
or  else  his  instructor,  to  learn  if  he  is  right;  or,  having 
fixed  upon  a  value  for  z,  he  tests  it  by  substituting  it 
to  see  if  it  satisfies  the  equation. 

Frequently  the  results  of  study  must  be  kept  hi 
permanent  form,  and  the  student  is  obliged  to  memo- 
rize what  he  has  learned.  This  kind  of  memorizing 
differs  from  the  type  employed  in  learning  to  count,  to 


196  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

say  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  or  to  spell,  in  that  it  is 
based  upon  thought  and  is  not  mere  mechanical 
association. 

These  factors  of  study  —  realizing  a  problem,  for- 
mulating an  hypothesis,  collecting  and  organizing 
data,  exercising  doubt  or  maintaining  independence  in 
opinion,  deferring  conclusion,  verifying  and  applying 
conclusions,  and  memorizing  —  may  all  be  present  in 
the  attempt  to  meet  some  of  the  situations  which  de- 
mand study;  at  other  times,  such  elements  as  the  exer- 
cise of  doubt,  the  deferring  of  judgment,  and  memori- 
zing may  not  be  necessary.  Sometimes  the  whole 
process  may  require  only  a  few  minutes;  in  other  prob- 
lems, the  studying  may  extend  over  a  long  period 
because  the  collecting  of  data  may  require  prolonged 
inquiry,  reading,  observation,  or  experimentation. 
This,  then,  is  the  nature  of  study.  The  questions  re- 
main, What  shall  be  done  during  a  study  lesson?  and 
How  may  students  be  trained  for  independent  study? 

What  may  be  done  during  a  study  period 

During  a  study  period  a  student  may  be  occupied 
with  one  or  more  steps  of  the  study  process.  He  may 
enter  upon  the  period  with  a  clearly  developed  aim,  or 
it  may  be  a  part  of  his  work  to  discover  the  problem 
involved  in  the  subject,  whether  it  be  found  in  a  book 
or  outside  of  a  book.  In  a  book  lesson,  he  may  be  re- 
quired to  find  the  author's  problems  or  to  discover 
supplementary  problems  of  his  own.  In  some  subject 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  197 

in  manual  arts  or  domestic  science,  the  student  may 
prepare  a  list  of  the  questions  involved.  Furthermore, 
the  study  period  may  include  any  or  all  of  the  other 
processes,  whether  collecting  and  organizing  data, 
verifying  and  applying  conclusions,  or  memorizing. 
At  some  time  or  other,  all  of  these  processes  will  be 
employed  as  needs  require. 

A  problem  solved  by  a  pupil  is  not  always  a  problem 
in  condition  to  be  presented  to  the  class.  A  puptt 
must,  then,  at  times  prepare  the  results  of  his  labors  so 
as  to  give  them  to  his  classmates  and  his  teacher.  He 
must  have  his  material  in  order,  his  proofs  ready,  must 
think  what  he  is  going  to  say,  and  what  illustrations  he 
will  use.  He  may  even  need  to  rehearse  his  lesson  so  as 
to  present  it  well. 

In  his  study  a  student  may  use  books  or  other 
sources  in  his  search  for  data.  He  may  observe  the 
phenomena  about  him;  he  may  spend  his  time  in 
thinking;  he  may  be  obliged  to  experiment;  or  he  may 
need  to  consult  other  people.  His  procedure  will  vary 
with  the  requirements  of  his  problem. 

The  nature  of  the  problem  may  necessitate  study 
outside  of  school  hours,  since  some  of  the  data  must  be 
studied  elsewhere  than  in  school.  Some  lessons  must 
be  prepared  in  school,  since  the  books  to  be  used  are 
found  there  and  not  elsewhere,  or  because  the  work 
must  be  done  with  the  teacher. 

Some  people  in  these  days  are  raising  a  protest 
against  home  study.  If  study  is  a  process  of  solving 


198  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

problems,  and  if  the  schools  select  the  problems  which 
are  a  part  of  the  lives  of  the  students,  then  home  study 
is  inevitable  since  home  and  community  furnish  both 
problems  and  the  data  necessary  for  their  solution. 
Schools  should  be  in  very  close  touch  with  community 
life.  The  right  kind  of  study  will  further  this  relation- 
ship since  it  brings  students  into  interested,  intelligent, 
and  cooperative  contact  with  home  and  neighborhood. 

The  study  devoted  to  the  solution  of  problems  may 
be  either  solitary  or  group  activity.  In  experimental 
work,  in  the  preparation  of  a  debate,  or  in  other  phases 
of  activity,  several  students  may  combine  their  efforts. 
A  number  of  students  may  be  given  the  use  of  a  sepa- 
rate room,  or  even  a  corner  of  the  classroom,  where 
they  may  compare  notes,  divide  the  work  to  be  done, 
organize  results,  and  do  whatever  else  is  necessary  in 
order  to  bring  before  the  class  the  material  for  which 
they  are  responsible.  Other  study  may  be  performed 
by  individuals.  It  may,  at  times,  be  necessary  to  for- 
bid consultation  in  order  to  insure  proper  study  by  all 
members  of  a  class.  In  general  our  own  experience  as 
teachers  should  be  suggestive  to  us.  At  times,  we  need 
solitude  for  reflection;  again,  we  need  to  consult  freely 
with  others  to  learn  what  they  know,  to  exchange 
views,  to  argue,  to  stand  by  our  own  ideas  with  proofs, 
to  amend  them  when  the  evidence  compels  alteration, 
and  to  get  the  benefit  that  can  be  obtained  only  by 
bringing  mind  in  contact  with  mind. 

There  will  be  many  occasions  when  teacher  and 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  199 

students  will  study  together  instead  of  having  individ- 
ual or  group  work.  It  will  not  be  a  crime,  then,  to  look 
into  the  book.  On  such  occasions  books  will  be  opened 
and  all  will  work  with  them  freely,  because  they  are 
satisfying  felt  needs  instead  of  reciting  words  mem- 
orized more  or  less  thoroughly. 

Training  pupils  for  independent  study 

It  is  necessary  to  teach  children  to  study  properly  in 
order  that  the  fabric  of  knowledge  may  be  influenced, 
that  experience  may  be  reorganized  along  right  lines, 
and  that  their  efforts  may  not  result  in  mastery  of 
words  rather  than  ideas.  We  also  need  to  train  them  in 
right  habits  of  study  in  order  that  they  may  learn  to 
work  independently  and  scientifically  in  what  they 
have  to  do.  They  need  such  habits  in  school,  and  they 
need  them  both  as  children  and  adults  in  the  life  out- 
side of  school.  The  teacher  has  no  more  important  or 
worthy  task  than  this  one  of  training  pupils  to  study 
well.  How  can  he  practice  them  in  the  various  steps 
of  study?  This  question  would  require  a  book  for  full 
answering,  but  some  suggestions  will  be  of  assistance. 

a.  Training  to  find  the  aim  or  problem.  Nowhere 
more  than  in  the  matter  of  training  students  to  find 
aims  or  ends  to  which  they  should  direct  their  efforts 
is  the  relation  of  good  teaching  to  proper  study  appar- 
ent. Those  taught  will  imitate  the  teacher's  method 
of  working,  and  they  will  prepare  for  the  kind  of  reci- 
tation exercise  which  a  teacher  is  known  to  conduct. 


*00  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

If  the  teacher,  when  working  with  his  class,  habitually 
seeks  aims,  and  sees  the  problems  which  swarm  up 
in  connection  with  every  subject,  the  pupils  will  tend 
to  follow  his  example.  If,  furthermore,  when  a  recita- 
tion exercise  is  under  way,  the  pupils  are  held  to  the 
presentation  and  discussion  of  important  aims,  pupils 
will  study  so  as  to  meet  this  requirement.  In  these 
ways,  then,  by  example  and  by  requirement,  as  well  as 
by  teaching,  pupils  can  be  trained  in  good  habits  of 
individual  study. 

In  taking  up  a  new  section  of  work  in  literature, 
geography,  or  history,  pupils  should  be  given  training 
in  class  where  the  teacher  can  help  in  asking  the 
questions  which  they  think  should  be  treated  of  in  the 
new  section.  They  should  be  given  practice  in  turning 
to  the  textbook  and  finding  one  after  another  the  ques- 
tions which  the  author  must  have  had  in  mind  and 
which  he  has  answered  in  the  text.  For  example,  the 
pupils  may  turn  to  the  story  of  "The  Fall  of  Troy." 
They  may  need  help  to  find  such  questions  as  these: 
"How  long  did  the  war  last?"  "In  what  manner  did 
the  Greeks  and  Trojans  fight?"  "What  plan  was 
made  by  the  Greeks  to  capture  the  city?"  With  the 
list  thus  started,  the  pupils  may  be  required  to  find 
during  their  study  period  the  rest  of  the  questions 
answered. 

In  arithmetic  problems,  much  difficulty  arises  be- 
cause pupils  do  not  clearly  determine  what  they  are 
required  to  do.  They  need  to  be  held  to  definite  word- 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  201 

ing  of  the  thing  required,  first  in  class  with  the  teacher, 
and  later  in  the  study  period  with  other  examples. 

In  nature  study  and  constructive  work,  there  should 
be  reflection  upon  the  problems  possible.  In  a  class 
which  was  to  study  about  fish,  the  teacher  suggested 
that  inasmuch  as  people  often  keep  goldfish,  it  might 
be  well  to  study  about  them,  and  asked  the  pupils  what 
they  would  need  to  think  about  if  they  had  goldfish 
for  pets.  There  was  a  goldfish  in  the  room,  and  the 
pupils  had  been  watching  it  for  some  days.  There  was 
no  lack  of  questioning  on  their  part  as  to  kind  and  size 
of  aquarium,  what  to  put  into  the  aquarium,  the 
amount  of  water  needed,  how  often  to  change  it,  the 
amount  and  kind  of  food,  the  diseases  to  be  expected, 
how  to  overcome  them,  and  so  on  until  the  list  was 
long.  In  later  lessons  about  animals,  the  pupils,  after  a 
lesson  or  two  like  this  one,  should  prepare  their  own 
lists  independently  and  bring  them  to  class. 

Since  school  life  and  community  and  world  life  be- 
long together,  pupils  should  be  required  to  seek  for 
aims  in  their  reading  and  experience  outside  of  school. 
'*  Why  should  a  country  concern  itself  over  the  rebel- 
lions which  occur  in  some  of  the  countries  of  Central 
and  South  America?"  "Why  are  certain  European 
countries  at  war?  "  "  What  is  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  and  what  are  its  duties?"  "What  is  the 
cause  of  a  certain  recent  flood?"  etc.  The  newspapers 
and  the  subjects  of  conversation  hi  the  homes  should 
send  pupils  to  school  full  of  questions.  But,  strangely 


SANTA  BARBARA  STATE  COLLEGE  Lffifc 


S02  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

enough,  the  children  in  our  schools  must  frequently  be 
given  practice  in  looking  and  listening  to  discover  that 
here  are  things  well  worth  their  consideration. 

Very  often  pupils  are  helped  to  find  aims  by  suggest- 
ing to  them  some  social  service.  "How  can  you  help 
absent  pupils  make  up  the  work  they  have  missed?" 
*'  We  are  to  give  the  assembly  program.  What  shall  we 
do  to  entertain  our  schoolmates? "  A  party  is  to  be 
given  by  a  class  and  the  teacher  asks,  "  What  are  the 
things  we  must  think  about  and  plan  for  in  giving  this 
party?" 

If  a  teacher  is  never  able  to  lead  her  pupils  to  sug- 
gest specific  reasons  for  their  composition  work  or  their 
arithmetic,  for  history,  geography,  manual  training, 
and  for  the  other  subjects,  he  either  lacks  insight  him- 
self into  the  nature  and  possibilities  of  his  materials,  or 
he  is  exceedingly  clumsy  in  his  teaching,  because  pupils 
often  need  no  more  than  an  opportunity  to  ask  the 
questions  which  they  are  usually  compelled  to  conceal 
in  their  own  minds.  They  are  unskilled  because  un- 
practiced.  Both  they  and  the  teacher  will  grow  in 
ability  if  the  work  be  undertaken  together.  What  is 
made  clear  in  class  in  this  direction  should  be  required 
in  individual  study  and  should  appear  in  the  recitation 
lesson  later.  These  aims  can  be  stated  and  compared, 
the  more  important  and  more  inclusive  can  be  ac- 
cepted, and  the  wording  can  be  corrected  as  needed. 

6.  Training  to  judge  of  hypotheses.  It  is  quite  natura\ 
for  people,  when  they  find  themselves  in  a  difficulty  of 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  90S 

some  kind,  to  cast  about  in  their  minds  for  a  way  out. 
This  is  what  takes  place  when  we  are  confronted  with  a 
situation  which  requires  thought.  We  make  up  a 
working  theory  or  hypothesis  and  then  we  try  to  use 
this  theory  in  the  solution  of  the  difficulty.  We  can 
save  trouble  for  ourselves  by  first  considering  whether 
our  theory  or  hypothesis  has  any  bearing  at  all  upon 
our  difficulty  and  whether  it  really  offers  a  possible 
solution. 

In  the  training  of  students  in  their  use  of  hypotheses, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  spend  so  much  time  and  effort  in 
trying  to  have  them  suggest  theories  as  it  is  in  having 
them  examine  their  theories  to  see  how  relevant  and 
adequate  they  are.  Pupils  are  usually  very  willing  to 
"guess"  the  solution,  or  cause,  or  effect,  or  way  of 
working,  or  whatever  is  required;  but  the  trouble  is 
that  the  guesses  are  frequently  wide  of  the  mark.  It 
does  not  mend  matters  much  to  dismiss  these  guesses 
as  ridiculous  and  wild.  Students  must  learn  to  see  for 
themselves  that  they  are  so,  and  must  reject  or  alter 
them.  They  must  learn  to  criticize  their  own  ideas 
and  discover  whether  they  give  any  promise  of  help. 

The  only  way  for  pupils  to  learn  this  very  necessary 
lesson  is  to  be  held  to  the  criticism  of  their  theories  as 
they  offer  them  to  discover  whether  they  bear  on  the 
problem  at  hand  at  all,  and,  in  case  they  are  relevant, 
to  see  whether  they  tend  in  the  right  direction.  The 
pupil,  who  in  answer  to  the  question,  "Why  do  oranges 
grow  in  Florida  and  not  in  New  Jersey?"  replied* 


201  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

"There  are  many  alligators  in  Florida,"  could  discover 
for  himself  that  his  answer  had  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  the  question  and  he  should  have  been  compelled 
to  do  so.  Had  he  suggested  difference  of  climate  or 
soil,  then  he  ought  to  have  stopped  to  think  whether 
those  factors  could  possibly  affect  the  situation.  In 
case  he  decided  in  the  affirmative,  he  would  have  been 
ready  to  proceed  with  his  investigation  to  see  if  he  was 
correct  hi  his  theory. 

Professor  Thorndike  *  gives  the  very  helpful  illus- 
tration of  the  boy  trying  to  find  his  way  to  a  certain 
house.  At  every  cross  or  branch  road,  he  must  stop 
and  think  whether  the  path  leads  him  to  his  destina- 
tion. This  is  what  children  and  adults  must  do  when 
in  study  they  are  pushing  forward  to  an  aim.  They 
must  examine  the  paths  to  see  if  they  lead  to  the  de- 
sired goal.  The  teacher  must  by  practice  show  stu- 
dents how  to  do  this,  and  must  both  encourage  and 
require  them  to  practice  the  close  scrutiny  of  their 
hypotheses  whenever  they  use  them. 

c.  Collecting  and  valuing  data.  In  the  chapters  on 
"The  Assignment  of  Lessons"  and  "The  Recitation 
Exercise,"  suggestions  are  given  for  helping  pupils  to 
know  the  sources  from  which  data  bearing  on  the  aim 
are  to  be  found.  In  the  early  stages  of  teaching  pupils 
to  study,  these  sources  will  have  to  be  brought  to 
mind  very  clearly  before  individual  search  begins. 
Later,  as  pupils  grow  more  skillful  in  handling  books, 
1  E.  L.  Thorndike,  Principles  of  Teaching,  p.  150. 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  £05 

and  know  better  where  to  turn  for  materials,  it  may 
not  be  necessary  to  say  so  much  about  sources.  The 
Tupils  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  elementary  schools 
and  students  in  high  schools  should  know  how  to  find 
what  is  in  their  textbooks,  and  also  what  the  school 
library  contains  which  is  helpful  in  working  up  a  given 
subject.  They  should  also  know  how  to  use  the  public 
library  quickly  and  advantageously. 

In  order  to  use  books  of  reference  profitably,  pupils 
must  learn  to  cull  what  they  need  at  the  time  and  dis- 
regard the  rest  of  the  material.  They  need  not  read 
the  entire  book,  nor  even  an  entire  chapter.  They 
must  be  held  to  seeing  quickly,  as  they  scan  a  page, 
what  gives  promise  of  help,  and  then  to  a  closer  scru- 
tiny to  determine  the  relevancy  and  value  of  the  part 
that  attracts  attention.  What  is  found  may  be  rele- 
vant but  not  valuable.  It  may  be  valuable  in  some 
other  connection  but  not  relevant  to  the  problem  at 
hand.  Through  class  practice,  insight  and  skill  in  this 
quick  search  for,  and  evaluation  of,  material  can  be 
increased.  Practice  in  individual  study  must  follow 
to  secure  the  best  results. 

The  same  standards  must  be  applied  to  data  gained 
from  other  sources  than  books.  "Do  they  relate  to  the 
problem?"  and  "Will  they  aid  hi  finding  the  answer?" 
are  the  tests  for  pupils  to  apply.  Material  which  can- 
not stand  these  tests  must  be  rejected,  however  val- 
uable it  might  be  in  other  connections. 

d.  Teaching  to  organize  material.  The  place  to  begin 


206  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

training  pupils  to  organize  is  in  the  primary  grades 
where  stories  are  told,  games  are  played,  and  various 
activities  are  planned.  When  a  story  is  told  by  pupils 
or  teachers,  the  pupils  should  occasionally  be  asked  to 
suggest  a  title.  They  can  be  aided  to  exercise  critical 
judgment  in  regard  to  the  titles  suggested  so  as  to 
choose  one  that  is  interesting,  not  too  long,  and  that 
takes  in  the  whole  story  instead  of  one  incident.  They 
can  decide  in  telling  a  story  what  they  will  tell  first, 
next,  and  so  on,  forming  in  this  way,  a  crude  topical 
outline  which  should  grow  in  excellence  from  grade  to 
grade.  In  plays  and  games,  they  can  prepare  a  similar 
outline  of  the  parts  of  their  activity.  In  making  some 
object,  they  can  plan  the  various  stages  of  their  work, 
or,  in  reviewing  it,  can  tell  what  they  have  done,  step 
by  step. 

In  the  reading-lessons,  in  geography,  history,  civics, 
literature,  and  other  similar  subjects  in  which  a 
thought  is  carried  along  through  several  paragraphs 
or  chapters,  the  pupils,  even  in  the  third  or  fourth 
grade,  can  select  the  important  topics  dealt  with  in 
subject-matter  suited  to  their  development.  By  work- 
ing with  the  teacher,  they  learn  to  word  these  topics 
smoothly,  to  make  them  interesting  and  suggestive  of 
the  thought,  and  to  observe  other  standards  which 
they  help  to  establish  through  their  own  criticism. 

This  test  is  suggested  for  a  teacher  of  a  grade  not 
lower  than  the  fourth.  Select  some  short  interesting 
article  from  the  newspaper,  read  it  to  the  class,  and 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  207 

ask  the  pupils  to  write  a  good  newspaper  heading  for 
it.  After  three  minutes,  collect  the  written  papers, 
which  should  include  name  and  date,  and  file  them 
During  the  following  week,  talk  with  the  pupils  about 
good  headings,  and  have  them  try  to  write  some.  At 
the  close  of  the  week,  give  a  test  similar  to  the  first 
one,  and  note  the  improvement.  It  will  be  found  that 
the  pupils  have  set  up  standards  of  excellence  in  even 
so  short  a  time. 

It  does  not  require  many  exercises  with  the  class  to 
train  pupils  to  write  paragraph  headings  and  to  find 
the  leading  points  under  their  general  subject.  The 
results  presented  by  various  pupils  will  show  differ- 
ences, but  that  is  not  a  fault. 

This  organization  should  be  required  in  all  subjects 
where  material  offers  opportunity  for  thought  mastery. 
It  may  require  slow  progress  for  a  time,  but  it  makes 
rapid  work  possible  after  a  few  weeks  of  practice.  If 
the  teachers  in  the  primary  grades  will  introduce  it  and 
follow  it  up,  and  if  the  teachers  of  higher  grades  will 
keep  building  upon  the  foundation  thus  laid,  our 
school  work  will  be  revolutionized  in  the  amount  and 
quality  of  the  results  achieved. 

e.  Deferring  conclusions  and  forming  independent 
judgments.  Recently  a  young  woman  student  assured 
the  writer  that  she  positively  knew  that  a  certain  plan 
of  work  suggested  by  another  member  of  the  class 
would  not  work.  When  asked  for  proof,  she  was 
obliged  to  acknowledge  that  she  did  not  really  know, 


208  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

but  that  it  was  her  opinion  that  the  proposed  plan  was 
not  feasible.  It  was  suggested  that  the  way  to  find  out 
was  to  try  the  plan  with  children  and  note  results. 
This  student  was  independent  in  her  views,  which  was 
commendable;  but  she  permitted  opinion  to  take  the 
place  of  evidence,  which  was  not  so  praiseworthy.  In 
this  instance  she  should  have  deferred  her  conclusion 
until  evidence  enough  had  been  obtained. 

The  case  just  cited  is  typical  of  many  class  situa- 
tions. Students  need  to  be  held  to  the  question,  "Do 
we  know  enough  about  the  matter  before  us  to  answer 
our  question  definitely?"  They  should  be  encouraged 
to  take  this  attitude  in  class  discussions  and  in  their 
individual  work.  The  questions  of  public  interest 
discussed  in  the  periodicals  of  the  day  afford  almost 
constant  occasion  for  suspense  of  judgment  either  be- 
cause the  information  given  is  incomplete  or  is  of 
doubtful  authenticity.  It  would  help  pupils  if  they 
were  to  consider  in  class  some  of  the  news  items  from 
the  papers  and  to  discuss  their  probable  value.  The 
source  must  be  considered;  also  the  character  of  the 
paper  from  which  the  items  are  taken.  In  some  mat- 
ters, the  proof  must  be  weighed.  Often  the  scientific 
accuracy  of  the  authors  consulted  must  constitute  a 
factor  in  dealing  with  evidence.  In  reading  historical 
novels  or  historical  plays,  one  needs  to  keep  these  facts 
in  mind.  The  author  was  not  working  for  a  scientific 
presentation  but  rather  for  a  literary  effect.  His 
authority  as  an  historian  cannot  pass  unchallenged. 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  209 

Pupils  sometimes  have  to  be  almost  compelled  to 
take  note  of  the  inaccuracies  in  the  recitations  of  their 
classmates.  They  should  frequently  question  state- 
ments made,  should  differ  radically,  and  should  see 
that  conclusions  are  not  justified  because  of  lack  of 
evidence.  In  these  situations,  the  teacher  so  frequently 
does  all  the  work  that  pupils  learn  to  be  passive.  If 
permitted  and  aided,  they  will  soon  learn  to  watch  the 
work  of  their  classmates,  to  argue,  and  to  maintain 
that  conclusions  are  either  incorrect  or  are  based  upon 
insufficient  evidence. 

In  a  class  recently  observed,  a  pupil  stated  that  the 
rainfall  of  Germany  is  less  than  that  of  Great  Britain, 
and  that  this  fact  gives  Germany  the  advantage  in  the 
manufacture  of  cotton.  Another  member  of  the  class 
at  once  opposed  this  conclusion  with  the  argument  that 
the  greater  amount  of  moisture  is  favorable  to  cotton 
manufacture,  and  that,  therefore,  Great  Britain  has 
the  advantage  over  Germany.  Here  is  a  simple  case  of 
independent  thinking  and  one  that  points  the  way 
along  which  pupils  may  be  taught  to  work.  They 
must  watch  the  evidence  and  see  if  they  agree  with 
conclusions  derived  from  it.  They  must  examine  con- 
clusions and  see  if  the  evidence  warrants  them.  They 
can  do  this  in  very  simple  matters,  or,  in  advanced 
classes,  they  can  consider  situations  which  are  com- 
plicated and  obscure. 

/.  Testing  conclusions.  When  a  problem  in  algebra 
is  solved,  the  student  does  not  stop  until  he  has  sub- 


810  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

stituted  the  value  of  x  to  see  if  it  satisfies  the  equa- 
tion. If  it  does,  he  is  content;  if  it  does  not,  he  must 
examine  his  procedure  to  determine  his  error.  The 
test  of  his  result  is  found  in  its  application.  So  the 
pupils  must  do  with  their  reasoned-out  theories  in 
other  directions.  They  must  apply  them  to  real  or  im- 
aginary situations  to  see  whether  they  will  meet  the  dif- 
ficulty. Pupils  who  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  winds 
blowing  from  the  ocean  are  rain-bearing  winds,  while 
winds  blowing  from  the  land  toward  the  ocean  are  dry 
winds,  should  not  let  the  theory  pass  without  finding 
out  in  some  way  if  it  is  correct.  They  may  do  this  by 
referring  to  conditions  in  regions  with  which  they  are 
familiar.  They  may  also  do  it  by  referring  to  the  maps 
in  their  geographies  which  show  winds  and  rainfall. 
Theories  unverified,  untested,  are  of  little  more  value 
than  opinions. 

As  has  just  been  suggested,  verification  may  be  ob- 
tained by  comparing  one's  results  with  the  textbook. 
The  answer  in  arithmetic  is  usually  verified  in  this 
way.  Causes  and  effects  in  geography,  history,  and 
science  may  also  be  verified  by  reference  to  the  text. 
Sometimes  verification  comes  through  comparison  of 
one's  conclusions  with  those  obtained  by  others,  or  by 
reference  to  the  experience  of  others.  The  teacher 
may  often  stamp  conclusions  as  right  or  wrong  by 
pointing  out  the  situations  to  which  they  will  or  will 
not  apply,  or  by  showing  the  strength  or  weakness  of 
the  tram  of  thought  which  led  up  to  them. 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  211 

The  pupil  can  be  helped  to  become  independent  in 
this  process  of  verifying  and  applying  his  results  by 
being  shown  how  to  do  it  and  then  being  obliged  to  use 
the  step.  How  can  you  find  out  if  your  answer  is  cor- 
rect? Where  will  you  look  for  verification?  What 
people  can  tell  you  whether  you  are  right  or  wrong? 
What  experiment  will  prove  your  answer?  If  your 
theory  is  correct,  what  facts  will  it  explain?  These  are 
some  of  the  questions  which  will  help  pupils  in  the 
testing  of  results.  They  ought,  after  some  training,  to 
ask  the  question  best  suited  to  their  own  particular 
problem  and  then  work  along  the  line  of  the  answer. 

g.  Thoughtful  memorizing.  Memorizing  that  is 
based  upon  the  thought  content  of  subject-matter 
rather  than  upon  the  order  of  words  is  called  thought- 
ful memorizing.  An  exact  order  of  words  may  be 
learned,  as  in  poetry,  definitions,  and  rules;  or  the 
questions  studied,  the  main  points  made  hi  the  an- 
swers, the  order  of  the  steps  in  a  chain  of  reasoning,  or 
the  nature  of  the  verification  may  be  learned  so  as  to 
be  remembered,  even  though  the  wording  may  not  be 
fixed.  Both  kinds  of  thoughtful  memorizing  are  neces- 
sary at  times  in  order  to  preserve  the  results  of  study 
for  later  profit  or  pleasure. 

In  either  case,  the  place  to  begin  is  with  the  consid- 
eration of  the  ideas  presented.  In  the  course  of  class 
study  or  individual  work,  through  processes  already 
described,  the  thought  is  gained,  the  author's  ques- 
tions and  his  answers  to  his  questions  are  sifted  out  of 


212  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

the  text,  the  steps  in  a  process  of  reasoning  are  worked 
out,  topical  outlines  are  prepared,  and  other  kinds  of 
work  are  done  as  the  material  demands.  In  the  study 
of  art  and  literature,  points  of  excellence,  of  strength, 
of  delicacy,  and  the  like  are  brought  out  and  enjoyed. 
There  is  thoughtful  work,  enjoyment,  appreciation 
throughout.  Then,  in  order  to  keep  what  should  be 
retained,  a  definite  effort  must  be  made  to  memorize. 
The  greater  the  interest  and  the  understanding  con- 
nected with  the  preceding  study,  the  less  the  amount 
of  drill  required. 

Since  memorizing  is  one  kind  of  habit-formation,  the 
steps  which  belong  to  the  latter  process  apply  to  it  as 
well.  There  must,  first  of  all,  be  the  clear  idea  of  the 
thing  to  be  memorized,  and  there  must  then  be  enough 
attentive  repetition  to  fix  it.  Attention  not  only  in- 
sures accuracy,  but  it  greatly  shortens  the  amount  of 
time  necessary  to  memorize.  Thoughtful  study  of  the 
facts  to  be  remembered  should  provide  the  clear  idea. 
Thoughtful  repetition  must  follow,  and  must  continue 
at  intervals  until  the  end  is  accomplished.  After  study- 
ing a  section  of  subject-matter,  the  pupils  should  be 
shown  how  to  recall  the  questions  they  have  found  and 
the  way  in  which  they  were  answered.  Verbatim  repro- 
ductions are  not  necessary,  since  the  thoughts  in  this 
case  are  more  important  than  words,  and  exact  word- 
ing is  not  essential.  They  should  also  be  given  prac- 
tice in  class  in  recalling  the  points  made  in  handling 
the  subject  and  in  stating  the  results.  With  the  model 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  «1S 

given  them,  they  should  be  required  in  recitation  peri- 
ods to  present  results  which  have  been  prepared  in  this 
way.  This  will  necessitate  the  proper  use  of  the  mem- 
orizing process  in  their  individual  study.  If  the  teacher 
persists  in  calling  for  important  ideas  contained  in  the 
lesson  studied,  and  for  parts  which  are  considered 
especially  valuable,  with  the  reasons  for  the  choice, 
the  students  will  feel  the  spur  of  necessity  in  preparing 
for  such  recitation  periods  and  mere  rote  learning  will 
be  broken  up.  Another  consideration  is  that  they  will 
enjoy  such  preparation  more. 

When  lessons  or  parts  of  lessons  are  to  be  learned 
exactly  as  they  stand,  there  should  again  be  the  idea 
of  meaning  preceding  the  learning,  and  the  selection 
should  be  memorized  by  thought  units  instead  of  by 
lines,  verses,  or  stanzas.  The  repetition  should  follow 
with  close  attention  and  with  the  effort  to  cut  the 
process  of  memorizing  short.  If  need  be,  there  should 
be  a  time  competition  in  order  to  hasten  the  process. 
The  teacher  must  gradually  accustom  the  pupils  to 
taking  care,  of  this  process  for  themselves.  In  inter- 
mediate grades  the  pupils  ought  to  know  the  steps  hi 
the  memorizing  process,  and  they  ought  to  be  exercised 
in  their  use  with  the  idea  of  making  them  proficient. 
It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  it  is  necessary 
to  recall  from  time  to  time  what  has  been  learned,  the 
intervals  between  the  drill  periods  becoming  gradually 
longer.  A  thing  once  learned  does  not  always  stick  in 
the  mind.  It  requires  several  renewals  to  insure  per* 


214  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

manency.  One  of  the  most  serious  defects  in  inexperi- 
enced teachers  is  their  failure  to  recognize  this  fact. 
They  prepare  and  conduct  a  fine  development  lesson, 
and  because  of  lack  of  later  attention,  the  results  are 
lost  to  a  very  large  extent.  People  must  frequently 
remember  ideas  and  they  often  need  exact  verbal 
forms.  We  should  therefore  train  our  pupils  to  retain 
what  is  worth  while  in  their  school  studies  and  train 
them  also  in  sane  and  economical  ways  of  committing 
these  valuable  parts  to  memory. 

Suggestions  to  the  teacher 

In  order  that  pupils  may  know  how  to  employ  the 
various  aspects  of  thoughtful  study  when  they  work 
alone,  it  will  be  found  advisable  for  the  teacher  to 
work  with  them  in  class,  going  through  the  actual 
processes,  using  textbooks,  reference  books,  and  what- 
ever else  may  be  necessary.  When  the  model  has  been 
given  and  the  students  have  the  right  idea,  then  as- 
signments should  be  made  which  will  involve  the  use 
of  the  processes  thus  illustrated. 

One  attempt  to  employ  the  right  method  of  working 
should  not  end  the  matter.  Thoughtful  study  is  con- 
stantly necessary;  therefore  there  must  be  persistent 
and  repeated  effort  along  this  line.  Pupils  should  re- 
port not  only  upon  the  results  of  their  study,  but  also 
upon  their  ways  of  working  so  that  wasteful  and  inac- 
curate methods  may  be  eliminated  and  better  ones 
substituted.  The  pupil  who  has  succeeded  should  tell 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  21fl 

how  he  worked  for  his  material.  His  success  should 
encourage  others.  Those  who  have  done  poorly  need 
investigation  so  that  the  cause  of  their  failure  may  be 
found  and  eliminated.  The  work  cannot  be  done  in  a 
week  or  a  term,  though  the  faithful  teacher  will  accom- 
plish enough  in  a  few  weeks  to  reward  her  endeavors. 
The  training  of  pupils  should  begin  with  simple 
material  and  with  easy  requirements,  —  both  as  to 
kind  and  amount  of  work.  If  the  problem  is  to  be 
found  in  the  text,  a  selection  should  be  chosen  for 
beginners  in  which  the  problem  is  easily  discovered. 
If  there  is  to  be  organization,  the  amount  of  materials 
should  be  limited  at  first,  and  the  main  points  should 
not  be  too  obscure.  The  teacher  will  find  it  necessary 
to  choose  from  textbooks  and  reference  books  the 
most  suitable  material.  In  stories  of  inventions  and 
discoveries,  in  accounts  of  famous  men,  in  historical 
narratives  some  excellent  selections  can  be  secured 
for  the  purpose  of  training  in  study.  As  pupils  grow 
more  mature,  or  as  they  grow  more  skilled  in  their 
ability  to  study,  they  can  work  with  much  more  diffi- 
cult material,  because  they  grow  more  competent  to 
find  the  salient  points  and  to  disregard  the  unimport- 
ant. They  grow  in  ability  to  cover  ground  and  conse- 
quently can  take  longer  lessons.  The  teacher  is  cau- 
tioned not  to  push  the  work  too  fast  at  first.  If  he  tries 
to  introduce  this  work  in  every  lesson  every  day,  he 
will  cause  some  pedagogical  fatalities,  and  may  end 
with  abandoning  the  whole  plan  as  a  failure. 


216  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

In  the  recitation  period,  the  pupils  must  be  held  to 
the  method  of  procedure  put  before  them  in  the  assign- 
ment, because  pupils  will  prepare  the  kind  of  lessons 
that  they  know  will  be  called  for.  Unless  the  teacher 
is  consistent  in  following  up  the  assignment,  pupils  will 
prepare  their  work  in  the  same  thoughtless,  unproduc- 
tive way  to  which  they  have  grown  accustomed. 

As  a  matter  of  economy  of  time  and  efficiency  in 
their  work,  pupils  must  be  taught  how  to  use  book 
helps,  such  as  tables  of  contents,  indexes,  the  diction- 
ary, the  card  catalogue,  the  literary  index,  and  the 
encyclopaedia.  The  use  of  part  of  these  helps  can  be 
learned  through  explanations  and  drills  in  class.  For 
library  helps,  classes  can  frequently  be  taken  to  a 
neighboring  library,  where  either  the  librarian  or  an 
assistant  can  show  the  children  where  the  various 
helps  are  located  and  how  they  should  be  used. 

Testing  classes  and  teachers 

Supervisors  will  find  it  rather  an  easy  matter  to  test 
the  advancement  of  pupils  and  the  quality  of  the 
teacher's  instruction  in  the  matter  of  study.  A  few 
tests  are  suggested  herewith. 

An  example  in  arithmetic  can  be  written  on  the 
board  or  slips  containing  the  example  can  be  given  to 
the  members  of  the  class.  At  a  signal  the  class  begins 
to  work  according  to  the  directions  on  the  slip  which 
call  for  these  facts:  (a)  What  is  required?  (6)  What  is 
given?  (c)  How  should  the  example  be  worked?  Wrhen 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  217 

all  have  finished  who  can  do  what  is  asked,  the  papers 
can  be  collected  and  quickly  sorted  into  groups  accord- 
ing to  grade,  —  e.g.,  A,  B,  C,  or  D,  —  and  the  number 
of  pupils  belonging  to  each  grade  noted.  The  paper 
should  be  left  with  the  teacher  as  a  basis  for  specis- 
work  with  those  pupils  who  need  it.  Later  tests  of 
the  same  nature  will  show  whether  the  teacher  is  mak- 
ing progress  with  her  class. 

A  short  story  may  be  read,  and  the  pupils  asked  to 
write  a  title.  The  papers  can  be  collected,  sorted,  and 
rated  as  above. 

A  selection  from  some  text  can  be  read  and  the 
pupils  required  (a)  to  write  the  author's  question,  and 
(6)  to  write  the  answer.  These  papers  can  be  col- 
lected and  rated. 

Typewritten  or  printed  slips  containing  suitable  sub- 
ject-matter can  be  given  the  pupils  who  are  then 
directed  to  write  the  heading  and  the  main  topics. 
These  papers,  as  in  the  case  of  the  others,  can  be 
collected,  sorted  and  rated. 

If  the  supervisor  or  examiner  desires,  a  time  limit 
may  be  set  to  these  tests.  When  the  time  has  expired, 
the  pencils  should  be  laid  down  at  once  and  the  papers 
collected.  If  the  pupils  have,  in  advance,  written  the 
date  and  their  names,  the  papers  can  be  used  to  refer 
to  later  to  note  progress  or  to  show  the  teacher  which 
pupils  need  help. 

Other  tests  may  be  devised  to  test  progress  in  the 
use  of  other  steps  in  study  as  well  as  in  knowledge  of 


218  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

subject-matter.  Those  suggested  above  have  been 
tried  and  found  practicable.  Pupils  in  the  fourth 
grade  and  in  all  higher  classes  should,  after  a  few 
weeks  of  training,  be  able  to  read  silently  a  selection  of 
several  pages  of  material  adapted  to  their  develop- 
ment and  interests,  write  the  subject,  the  main  topics 
covered,  the  questions  which  they  would  like  to  have 
answered  about  matters  suggested  by  the  text,  and 
also  a  list  of  words  the  meanings  of  which  they  need  to 
know  to  understand  the  thought  of  the  selection.  They 
should  do  this  in  a  period  of  not  longer  than  twenty  or 
twenty-five  minutes.  Fourth  grade  pupils  have  gone 
through  such  tests  with  success,  thus  demonstrating 
the  ability  of  pupils  to  work  independently,  thought- 
fully, and  quickly. 

REFERENCES:  F.  M.  McMurry,  How  to  Study  and  Teaching  How 
to  Study;  L.  B.  Earhart,  Teaching  Children  to  Study;  H.  B.  and  G.  M. 
Wilson,  Motivation  of  School  Work;  Hall-Quest,  Supervised  Study; 
G.  M.  Whipple,  How  to  Study  Effectively;  Thirteenth  Yearbook  of  the 
National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  i;  Twentieth  Year- 
book of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  n;  John 
Dewey,  How  we  Think;  Teachers  College  Record,  Sept.,  1913,  "The 
Project  Method." 

EXERCISES 

1.  What  would  be  the  value  of  giving  a  class  in  arithmetic  such 
exercises  as  the  following  and  requiring  them  to  make  the  prob- 
lem? A  man  received  an  income  of  $2000,  and  paid  $300  for 
rent,  $25  for  taxes,  and  $50  for  life-insurance. 

A  boy  brought  a  quart  of  milk  for  ten  cents  and  gave  the  store- 
keeper twenty-five  cents. 

2.  What  would  be  the  gain  to  a  class  of  occasionally  reading  the 
arithmetic  examples  one  by  one,  stating  what  is  given,  what  is  to 
be  found,  and  the  correct  way  of  working,  without  stopping  the 
class  exercise  to  perform  the  actual  operations? 


TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY  *19 

3.  Since  minds  work  according  to  natural  laws,  why  train  pupils 
to  study? 

4.  Is  telling  or  showing  the  better  way  to  make  clear  to  pupils 
the  way  to  study?   What  suggestion  to  the  teacher  is  involved 
in  your  answer? 

5.  Is  it  always  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  help  the  pupils  become 
conscious  of  the  aim  for  which  they  should  work?  How  else  can 
they  get  their  aims  than  by  the  teacher's  aid? 

6.  What  aims  can  little  children  have  in  their  first  reading  lessons? 

7.  What  aims  are  possible  for  oral  and  written  composition? 

8.  If  a  fifth  grade  class  is  to  use  reference  books,  what  preliminary 
help  should  it  have?   How  much  help  should  an  eighth  grade 
have  that  has  been  trained  throughout  its  school  course  in  habits 
of  independent  study? 

9.  Under  what  circumstances  would  you  accept  a  clumsily-worded 
aim  or  topical  outline  from  a  class  in  preference  to  furnishing  a 
perfect  one  of  your  own  composition?  How  can  pupils  be  helped 
to  improve  in  this  respect? 

10.  When  pupils  recited  lessons  from  memory,  the  use  of  the  text- 
book in  class  was  forbidden.  Show  how  using  the  book  in  class  is 
an  aid,  possibly  a  necessity,  in  thoughtful  study. 

11.  What  can  be  done  about  the  application  of  principles  which 
pupils  work  out  in  their  study  of  morals?  What  difficulties  are 
in  the  way? 

12.  What  is  the  effect  upon  the  work  of  pupils  when  they  know  that 
not  only  the  teacher  but  their  classmates  as  well  will  call  them  to 
account  for  inaccurate  or  obscure  statements? 

IS.  What  effect  does  it  have  upon  a  class  to  throw  upon  it  the  respon- 
sibility for  asking  questions  and  for  checking  mistaken  answers? 

14.  Suggest  how  home-environment  can  be  utilized  in  connection 
with  some  of  the  factors  of  study  such  as  motivation,  collecting 
data,  and  application. 

15.  Prepare  an  examination  in  arithmetic  and  one  in  history  which 
will  test  the  ability  of  the  pupils  to  do  thoughtful  work. 

16.  Should  supervision  of  study  follow  or  precede  the  instruction  of 
students  in  proper  methods  of  study? 

17.  Should  the  supervisor  of  study  keep  order,  or  do  the  work  for 
students,  or  see  that  the  students  use  the  factors  of  proper 
study? 

18.  How  may  the  teacher  in  charge  of  the  study  period  help  the 
pupils  to  fix  the  habits  of  proper  study  which  have  already  been 
started? 


XV 

MAKING  LESSON  FLANS 

Why  a  lesson  plan  is  necessary 

A  LESSON  plan  is  the  preparation  made  by  a  fore- 
sighted  teacher  to  be  used  as  a  guide  in  teaching.  It  is 
as  necessary  for  the  teacher  to  make  this  preparation 
as  it  is  for  a  general  to  plan  his  campaign,  for  the  engi- 
neer to  plan  his  bridge,  or  for  the  merchant  to  plan 
for  the  trade  of  the  coming  season.  The  plan  directs 
effort  so  that  desired  results  are  sure  to  follow,  and  to 
follow  with  economy  of  time  and  effort.  It  makes  it 
more  likely  that  the  teacher  will  include  all  that  should 
be  taught  in  connection  with  a  given  topic;  also,  that 
procedure  will  follow  the  lines  that  it  should  and  will 
not  wander  far  afield.  It  is  one  of  the  marks  of  distinc- 
tion between  people  in  the  state  of  savagery  and  people 
who  are  civilized  that  the  latter  exercise  foresight  and 
plan  for  the  future  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  the 
former.  This  procedure  enables  them  to  achieve  re- 
sults at  which  people  less  thoughtful  can  only  marvel. 

A  teacher's  task  is  highly  complicated.  In  the  first 
place,  a  prescribed  course  of  study  for  his  grade  must 
be  completed  within  a  term.  In  the  second  place, 
there  is  a  group  of  pupils  of  a  certain  stage  of  develop- 
ment, and  possessing  varying  amounts  of  experience 


MAKING  LESSON  PLANS  221 

who  must  be  brought  into  contact  with  this  course  of 
study  in  such  a  way  as  to  master  its  values.  If  the 
teacher  does  no  more  than  see  that  the  subject-matter 
is  memorized,  or  told  in  the  pupils'  language,  a  certain 
crude  planning  must  occur  to  make  sure  that  the  speci- 
fied course  is  completed  within  the  given  time.  If, 
however,  the  course  of  study  is  to  be  used  as  a  means 
of  influencing  the  experience  of  the  learners,  is  to  result 
in  knowledge,  attitude,  conduct,  or  skill,  there  must  be 
planning  which  considers  much  more  than  the  subject- 
matter  prescribed  by  the  school  authorities.  There  must 
be  definite  recognition  of  those  who  are  to  be  taught. 

What  a  plan  should  include 

It  is  likely  to  be  a  teacher's  first  thought  that  a 
plan  should  indicate  the  subject-matter  to  be  pre- 
sented to  a  class.  It  should  show  this,  but  it  should 
show  other  matters  as  well.  Following  is  a  list  of  the 
things  which  a  complete  plan  should  contain:  — 

a.  Subject-matter. 

(1)  The  specific  purposes  to  be  accomplished  through  th» 
subject-matter  included  in  the  plan. 

(2)  The  subject-matter  as  a  whole  or  in  outline  perspec- 
tive. 

6.  Class  procedure. 

(1)  The  development  of  the  pupil's  aim. 

(2)  The  method  of  treating  the  subject-matter. 

(3)  The  provision  for  reviews,  summaries,  drills,  and 
assignments. 

(4)  References  and  illustrative  material  to  be  employed. 

(5)  The  verification  and  application. 


222  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

This  outline  of  a  plan  may  appear  formidable  at 
first,  but  a  careful  examination  will  show  that  it 
requires  only  that  which  a  teacher  must  think  about  if 
the  work  is  to  be  done  thoughtfully;  also,  that  after  the 
learner  has  grown  accustomed  to  this  careful  prepara- 
tion, there  will  be  very  little  that  must  be  written  in 
the  preparation  of  a  plan.  Let  us  take  up  the  items 
one  by  one  and  see  what  they  require. 

The  specific  purposes  to  be  accomplished  through  the 
subject-matter  included  in  the  plan.  The  specific  pur- 
poses are  often  called  the  teacher's  aims.  They  indi- 
cate that  in  planning  any  lesson,  the  teacher  has  aims 
in  view  which  the  subject-matter  of  the  plan  alone  can 
accomplish.  Thus,  hi  teaching  about  "The  Gleaners," 
the  specific  purposes  might  be  to  lead  the  class  to  see 
Normandy  peasants  harvesting  as  Millet  saw  them, 
to  share  his  feeling  about  them.  In  teaching  "Lines  to 
a  Waterfowl,"  the  purposes  might  be  to  see  how  and 
what  Bryant  was  led  to  think  of  his  own  life  hi  relation 
to  Divine  Power;  also,  to  enjoy  the  beauty  of  both 
thought  and  language  in  this  masterpiece.  In  a  gram- 
mar lesson,  the  purpose  of  the  subject-matter  em- 
ployed may  be  to  show  that  a  verb  must  agree  with  its 
subject  in  person  and  number;  in  geography,  to  ex- 
plain why  the  corn  belt  is  located  where  it  is;  in  arith- 
metic, to  show  that  the  number  of  decimal  places  in 
the  product  equals  the  number  of  decimal  places  in  the 
multiplier  plus  the  number  of  decimal  places  in  the 
multiplicand. 


MAKING  LESSON  PLANS  223 

The  purposes  to  be  worked  for  are  along  the  lines  of 
the  aims  of  education  in  general.  That  is,  the  purpose 
may  be  to  increase  knowledge.  Most  of  the  aims  sug- 
gested in  the  preceding  paragraph  have  this  function. 
Another  purpose  is  the  influencing  of  feeling,  the  arou- 
sal of  appreciation.  This  is  one  of  the  aims  stated  for 
teaching  "Lines  to  a  Waterfowl,"  namely,  to  enjoy 
the  beauty  of  both  thought  and  language  in  this  mas- 
terpiece. Still  another  general  purpose  is  to  increase 
skill  or  to  form  habits.  In  a  lesson  plan,  such  a  purpose 
is  made  specific  by  stating  just  what  is  to  be  done  in 
a  given  lesson.  Thus,  in  a  penmanship  lesson,  the 
purpose  of  the  teacher  may  be  to  improve  the  forma- 
tion of  the  capital  letter  A;  or,  in  an  art  lesson,  to 
show  how  trees  look  against  the  sky  in  winter,  or  how 
the  use  of  a  darker  shade  on  a  lighter  one  makes 
work  more  effective. 

It  is  a  common  lack  in  teachers  that  they  do  not 
determine  in  advance  of  their  recitations  just  what  is 
the  specific  function  of  the  subject-matter  to  be  em- 
ployed. They  accept  a  course  of  study,  or  a  specified 
textbook,  and  work  through  from  start  to  finish  with- 
out seeing  just  what  each  section  of  material  can  be 
made  to  render  in  the  way  of  service.  They  will  teach 
lesson  after  lesson  "to  increase  the  appreciation  of 
literature,"  but  unless  they  find  just  what  is  to  be 
appreciated  in  each  selection  studied,  they  are  quite 
sure  to  fail  in  the  general  purpose.  It  ought  not  to  be 
possible  to  use  the  same  statement  of  purpose  for 


224  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

many  lessons.  Each  one  has  or  should  have  some- 
thing which  is  peculiar  to  itself  and  which  cannot  be 
transferred.  This  the  teacher  should  discover  and 
utilize. 

The  subject-matter  as  a  whole  or  in  outline  perspective. 
In  some  lessons,  especially  in  primary  grades,  only  one 
fact  is  taught,  as  when  we  teach  that  3  +  4=7.  Again, 
the  material  possesses  no  logical  sequence  which  one 
needs  to  put  in  outline  form;  for  example,  the  reading 
lessons  in  primary  grades.  In  plans  dealing  with  such 
subject-matter,  no  outline  showing  the  structure  of 
the  material  is  necessary.  In  most  plans,  however, 
several  phases  of  subject-matter  must  be  indicated, 
that  is,  there  must  be  an  outline  showing  its  organiza- 
tion. Even  the  simple  poems  of  childhood  have  clearly 
marked  steps  which  should  be  noted.  Just  as  pupils 
need  to  organize  their  data  so  as  to  master  it  and  to 
make  a  good  report  to  the  class,  so  the  teacher  needs 
to  organize  his  subject-matter  so  as  to  master  it  and  to 
prepare  to  teach  it  properly.  In  order  to  present  the 
subject  of  what  a  lesson  plan  should  contain,  the 
author  has  organized  the  subject  under  the  general 
heads  (a)  Subject-matter,  and  (6)  Class  procedure,  each 
of  these  topics  having  several  subheads.  This  arrange- 
ment shows  the  structure  of  the  material  and  makes 
possible  a  complete  and  orderly  discussion. 

An  outline  should  follow  the  logical  order  of  the 
subject-matter,  that  is,  the  order  of  dependence  or 
natural  sequence.  If  one  were  to  teach  the  manufac- 


MAKING  LESSON  PLANS  225 

turing  industries  of  England,  he  would,  according  to 
the  order  of  dependence,  arrange  his  topics  as:  (1) 
Natural  features  which  make  manufacturing  possible. 
(2)  What  the  manufactures  of  England  are.  (3) 
Where  these  industries  are  located;  and  so  on.  In  his- 
tory, the  chronological  order  may  be  followed,  when 
there  is  no  logical  relationship.  Whatever  the  order, 
the  arrangement  of  the  topics  should  give  a  perspec- 
tive of  the  ground  to  be  covered.  Furthermore,  the 
teacher  will  find  it  helpful  to  include  no  more  ground 
in  one  plan  than  can  be  covered  by  a  brief  outline, 
because  this  outline  should  be  kept  clearly  in  mind 
during  the  teaching  process  for  which  it  forms  the 
basis.  It  is  to  be  the  teacher's  guide  and  therefore 
ought  to  be  present  constantly.  A  few  large  points 
can  be  held  firmly  when  many  small  ones  would  defeat 
the  very  purpose  of  the  separation  of  the  material  into 
parts,  that  is,  mastery. 

The  development  of  the  pupils'  aim.  When  the 
teacher  has  decided  upon  the  specific  purposes  to  be 
accomplished  through  the  subject-matter,  and  has 
analyzed  the  latter  into  large  units  so  as  to  obtain  a 
good  perspective  of  the  whole,  as  well  as  a  convenient 
working  basis,  the  actual  class  procedure  must  be  defi- 
nitely provided  for.  The  point  of  departure  here  is  the 
point  where  the  subject-matter  closely  touches  the 
interests  or  need  of  the  pupils,  that  is,  what  some  one 
has  called  the  "point  of  contact."  The  place  where 
need  or  interest  focuses  may  not  coincide  with  the  first 


226  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

topic  in  the  teacher's  logical  or  chronological  analysis, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  or  obligatory  that  it  should. 
The  teacher's  outline  of  the  Revolutionary  War  might 
begin  with  "Causes,"  while  the  interest  of  the  pupils 
might  center  upon  some  of  the  activities  or  conse- 
quences of  that  war.  The  teacher's  outline  of  Cali- 
fornia might  have  "Location"  for  the  first  topic;  the 
point  of  contact  for  the  pupils  might  be  the  fact  that 
some  of  their  friends  spend  the  winters  there,  or  the 
fact  that  much  of  our  fruit  comes  from  that  State. 
Where  interest  centers,  or  where  a  need  can  be  brought 
to  the  focus  in  such  a  way  that  pupils  can  be  made  con- 
scious of  it,  there  the  pupils'  aim  must  be  located.  The 
plan  should  show  briefly  what  this  point  in  the  subject- 
matter  is  and  how  the  teacher  intends  to  make  the 
pupils  conscious  of  the  end  for  which  they  are  to  work. 
Many  lessons  begin  without  any  consciousness  on 
the  part  of  the  pupils  of  any  aim  whatsoever.  Some- 
times the  teacher  sets  up  an  aim  for  the  class.  As  has 
been  shown  in  the  preceding  chapters,  as  well  as  in 
recent  books  on  teaching  pupils  to  study,  it  is  possible 
and  advisable  to  get  pupils  to  state  their  own  aims,  or 
for  the  teacher  to  relate  his  statement  of  aim  so  closely 
to  the  knowledge  and  interests  of  pupils  that  thr 
latter  can  instantly  adopt  the  teacher's  aim  as  their 
own.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  teacher  is  habitually 
to  establish  aims  for  pupils.  Such  procedure  marks 
the  unskillful  teacher.  Reflection  upon  what  pupils 
know  and  are  interested  in  will  reveal  a  basis  closely 


MAKING  LESSON  PLANS  227 

enough  related  to  the  subject-matter  to  be  taught  to 
furnish  the  starting-point  for  its  treatment.  The  plan 
should  show  how  the  teacher  intends  to  utilize  this  old 
knowledge  or  the  interests  of  the  class  so  as  to  lead  the 
pupils  either  to  state  the  aim  themselves  or  to  accept 
the  teacher's  statement  of  it.  In  the  illustrative  plans 
shown  later,  this  procedure  will  be  made  clear. 

The  method  of  treating  the  subject-matter.  It  has 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  writer  to  examine  many  hun- 
dreds of  lesson  plans  prepared  by  students  and  teach- 
ers. A  very  common  fault  in  these  plans  was  the  inclu- 
sion of  every  item  of  subject-matter  instead  of  a  mere 
synopsis  or  outline,  and,  on  the  method  side,  the  writ- 
ing of  scores  of  questions  to  cover  every  item  of  the 
subject-matter.  Such  plan-making  is  burdensome  and 
useless.  Probably  no  teacher  is  ever  able  to  follow 
such  a  plan  in  practice  because  pupils  do  not  answer  in 
the  ways  expected  when  such  plans  are  prepared.  The 
teacher  is  soon  thrown  off  the  track  and  the  teaching 
procedure  limps  along  to  a  sorry  conclusion.  It  would 
be  better  far  to  prepare  an  outline  or  synopsis  of  the 
material  to  be  taught,  starting  from  the  pupils'  aim, 
and  arranging  the  items  in  the  order  hi  which  the 
pupils  are  likely  to  come  to  them  from  that  starting- 
point.  This  gives  the  so-called  psychological  arrange- 
ment of  subject-matter.  It  may  not  follow  the  order  of 
topics  in  the  teacher's  preliminary  survey  but  it  will 
cover  all  the  ground  of  the  latter.  It  will  probably  be 
much  fuller  than  the  teacher's  outline,  though  the 


228  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

teacher  is  cautioned  not  to  make  it  a  miniature  text- 
book. 

While  the  plan,  on  the  subject-matter  side,  should 
give  the  material  in  condensed  form,  it  should,  on  the 
procedure  side,  indicate  how  the  pupils  are  to  be 
brought  in  contact  with  the  material  indicated.  As 
has  been  suggested,  detailed  questions  are  a  waste  oi 
labor.  If  questions  are  to  be  asked,  only  those  should 
be  given  which  from  time  to  time  direct  the  thought 
forward.  These  questions  will  correspond  to  the  main 
topics  of  the  outline  of  the  subject-matter  and  may  be 
placed  beside  them  on  the  page,  each  question  being 
opposite  the  topic  which  it  introduces.  If  pupils  are  to 
recite  on  prepared  topics,  or  read  assigned  references, 
the  plan  should  show  these  facts.  If  they  are  to  consult 
textbooks,  or  if  they  are  to  reason  from  one  conclusion 
to  another,  the  plan  should  make  provision  for  such 
procedure.  In  short,  the  teacher  should  make  clear 
how  he  expects  the  pupils  to  get  into  their  minds  the 
matter  which  he  plans  to  give  them.  If  it  be  by  devel- 
oping questions,  by  observation,  by  experimentation, 
by  reading,  by  telling,  or  by  some  other  method,  the 
plan  should  show  that  the  teacher  has  anticipated  his 
procedure  and  has  made  arrangements  for  it.  A 
teacher  is  sometimes  confused  if  the  supervisor  says, 
"Your  subject-matter  is  well  outlined  and  your  ques- 
tions are  good;  but  how  do  you  expect  your  pupils  to 
gain  the  answers  to  your  questions?  "  This  important 
detail  should  not  be  overlooked. 


229 

The  provision  for  reviews,  summaries,  drills,  and 
assignments.  Frequently  during  the  teaching  of  the 
lesson  or  series  of  lessons  needed  to  cover  the  subject- 
matter  of  a  single  plan,  it  is  necessary  to  introduce 
reviews  and  drill  exercises  for  the  purposes  which  these 
alone  can  serve.  Also,  during  the  progress  of  teaching, 
questions  may  be  expected  to  arise  which  will  form  the 
basis  for  later  recitations  and  which  should  be  defi- 
nitely assigned  for  study.  The  plan  should  make  pro- 
vision for  the  necessary  reviews,  summaries,  and  drills, 
and  for  the  assignments  which  grow  out  of  the  lesson. 

References  and  illustrative  material  to  be  employed. 
The  tendency  to  refer  to  other  books  than  the  pupils' 
textbooks  and  to  employ  illustrative  material  freely 
is  growing  rapidly  in  these  days  of  libraries  and  muse- 
ums and  of  appreciation  of  a  community's  resources. 
When  a  plan  is  to  include  references,  the  title  of  the 
book  or  magazine,  the  volume,  and  the  page  should 
be  indicated.  While  a  plan  will  probably  never  be 
used  a  second  time  just  as  it  was  the  first  time,  the 
references  which  the  teacher  has  employed  may  well 
be  used  again,  and  should  therefore  be  preserved  in  a 
way  that  saves  searching  for  them  in  a  library  the  next 
time  they  are  needed.  Then,  too,  it  is  often  necessary 
to  give  the  references  to  the  pupils  for  their  use,  and  it 
is  well  to  have  them  in  such  form  that  they  can  be 
given  promptly  and  fully.  For  similar  reasons,  it  is 
advisable  to  include  mention  of  illustrative  materials 
such  as  maps,  charts,  drawings,  models,  pictures,  and 


830  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

the  like,  from  which  pupils  are  to  learn  any  of  the  facts 
of  the  lesson.  The  instructor  is  well  fortified  for  his 
work  who  definitely  plans  for  these  aids  to  his  teaching. 

Verification  and  application.  No  lesson  which  has 
for  its  purpose  the  solution  of  a  problem,  the  mastery 
of  a  process,  the  elimination  of  a  difficulty,  or  the  sat- 
isfying of  some  conscious  need,  should  be  concluded 
without  definitely  referring  to  this  motive,  problem,  or 
need  to  see  how  it  has  been  satisfied  through  the  lesson 
just  given.  "What  did  we  start  out  to  do?"  "How 
have  we  done  it?"  "Does  this  meet  the  difficulty?" 
These  are  some  suggested  tests  to  be  applied  to  the 
results  of  the  work  provided  for  in  the  plans.  If  the 
aim  of  the  pupils  was  to  learn  how  to  copy  numbers 
rapidly,  they  should  at  the  end  of  the  drill  exercise 
recall  this  aim  and  state  the  means  they  have  employed 
to  accomplish  it.  If  the  aim  was  to  find  why  General 
Burgoyne  failed  to  complete  his  part  of  the  British 
plan  to  gain  possession  of  the  Hudson  River,  the 
question  and  the  answer  should  be  put  together  at 
the  close  of  the  lesson  or  series  of  lessons  in  which  the 
answer  was  found. 

Rules  and  definitions  should  be  tested  by  employing 
them  in  the  original  situation  from  which  the  aim  was 
derived.  They  should  also  be  verified  by  reference  to 
books  or  other  sources.  Processes  can  be  similarly 
checked  to  see  if  they  are  accurate. 

It  frequently  is  the  case  that  results  obtained  in  les- 
sons are  to  be  made  automatic.  Rules  must  be  applied 


MAKING  LESSON  PLANS  231 

and  processes  repeated  until  they  become  habitual,  — 
until  mastery  is  assured.  Results  must,  at  times,  be 
memorized.  Plans  are  not  completed  until  definite 
provision  has  been  made  for  testing,  verifying,  and 
applying  results,  or  for  memorizing  that  which  is  to 
be  retained  in  definite  form.  This  provision  need  not 
occupy  much  space  in  the  plan,  but  the  fact  that  it  is 
there,  even  in  brief  form,  means  that  the  teacher  has 
not  overlooked  this  very  important  part  of  his  teach- 
ing. The  step  of  application,  the  last  of  the  five  formal 
steps,  has  its  place  in  this  part  of  the  lesson  plan. 

Teaching  from  the  plan 

A  lesson  plan  may  be  a  help  or  a  hindrance  to  a 
teacher,  according  to  the  way  it  is  used.  If  the  teacher, 
with  plan-book  before  his  eyes,  follows  it  closely, 
disregarding  the  state  of  mind  of  his  class,  the  ques- 
tions asked,  the  unexpected  knowledge  or  ignorance 
revealed,  his  plan  has  been  an  obstacle  to  good,  live 
teaching.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  teacher  fixes  in  his 
mind  the  ends  he  desires  to  reach,  the  place  where  the 
class  is  to  begin,  the  large  points  of  his  outline,  and  the 
few  questions  which  are  to  direct  thought,  he  can,  to 
a  great  extent,  disregard  the  plan  book  and  work  face 
to  face  with  the  class,  following  the  bendings  of  the 
pupils'  thinking,  and  recognizing  the  value  of  the  con- 
tributions made.  He  knows  where  he  intends  to  go 
and  the  general  direction  in  which  he  must  travel. 
These  basal  ideas  will  keep  him  from  going  far  astray, 


«32  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

and  they  leave  him  free  to  make  the  lesson  live  and 
interesting  instead  of  dry  and  formal.  He  will  need  to 
consult  his  plan  in  order  to  give  references  and  assign- 
ments exactly.  He  may  need  to  consult  it  sometimes 
to  see  if  he  is  overlooking  some  part  which  he  intends 
to  teach,  but  he  should  not  follow  it  slavishly  because 
that  is  deadening  and  never  leads  to  independence  and 
power. 

Some  considerations  in  plan-making 

a.  Impossibility  of  complete  plans  in  all  subjects. 
Such  complete  plans  as  have  been  described  in  this 
chapter  cannot  be  prepared  in  all  subjects  for  every 
day.  No  teacher  has  the  time  and  strength  to  do  that 
amount  of  work.  Pupils  in  training  in  normal  schools 
will  need  to  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  in  plan-making 
because  that  is  an  important  part  of  the  process 
through  which  they  become  skilled  teachers.  As  mas- 
tery is  gained  in  handling  subject-matter  and  pupils, 
the  amount  of  planning  can  be  decreased.  The  teacher 
in  charge  of  a  class,  and  responsible  for  it,  should  first 
examine  the  course  of  study  with  care  to  see  what 
ground  is  to  be  covered  in  a  term.  The  work  to  be  done 
should  be  broken  up  into  units  and  an  estimate  made 
of  the  time  to  be  given  to  each.  Plans  more  or  less 
complete  can  then  be  prepared  for  each  unit.  From 
day  to  day  sections  of  these  unit  plans  will  be  em- 
ployed in  teaching  the  class.  This  way  of  dealing  with 
the  term's  work  enables  the  teacher  to  keep  his  bear- 


MAKING  LESSON  PLANS  233 

ings,  to  see  the  place  of  each  unit  in  the  whole  body  of 
subject-matter;  and  it  also  secures  a  better  distribu- 
tion of  time  than  is  likely  to  result  if  there  is  no  pre- 
liminary division  of  time. 

6.  Learning  to  shorten  the  process  of  plan-making. 
Since  good  teaching  demands  planning,  and  since  it  is 
out  of  the  question  for  any  teacher  to  make  detailed 
plans  every  day,  the  question  arises,  How  can  the 
process  of  plan-making  be  shortened  to  working  pro- 
portions and  still  result  in  efficient  work?  A  teacher 
should  school  himself  to  master  his  material  as  a  pub- 
lic speaker  does  his.  It  is  a  common  experience  for 
a  lecturer  or  speaker  to  write  out  every  word  of  his 
address  when  he  first  begins  such  work.  He  covers  the 
ground  with  care,  but  loses  something  of  personal 
touch  with  his  audience.  With  effort  he  trains  himself 
to  speak  from  a  mere  outline  of  topics  which  he  keeps 
before  him.  With  further  training  and  growing  confi- 
dence, he  finally  masters  the  outline,  and  without 
notes  faces  his  audience  and  delivers  his  message.  The 
teacher  should  work  for  similar  power  in  his  own  par- 
ticular field.  Complete  plans  are  necessary  until  tech- 
nique improves  to  the  extent  which  renders  detail  un- 
necessary. The  plan  should  presently  simmer  down  to 
the  statement  of  the  teacher's  aim  or  aims,  the  pupils' 
aim,  the  few  large  topics  of  the  subject-matter,  and  the 
questions  which  introduce  them.  The  references  will 
also  be  needed.  In  the  end,  even  this  amount  of  writ- 
ing may  not  be  necessary.  The  writer  has  seen  splen- 


SS4  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

didly  planned  lessons  given  when  the  only  writing  in 
evidence  was  the  list  of  references  on  a  small  card. 
When  plans  are  required  by  a  supervisor  or  principal, 
a  little  writing  will  suffice  to  show  the  teacher's  aim, 
the  pupils'  aim,  the  main  divisions  of  the  subject- 
matter,  the  few  large  questions,  and  the  references.  In 
the  case  of  a  strong  teacher  no  more  is  necessary. 

c.  Complete  plans  necessary  at  times.  When  a  teach- 
er's work  shows  that  his  preparation  is  incomplete,  a 
supervisor  is  justified  hi  requiring  fuller  evidence  of 
preparation  than  that  just  recommended  for  able 
teachers.  Furthermore,  even  a  successful  teacher  will 
find  it  necessary  to  fall  back  upon  detailed  planning 
when  new  material  is  undertaken  in  the  usual  grade, 
or  when  a  higher  class  is  to  be  taught.  There  are  new 
elements  introduced  here  which  necessitate  more  fore- 
thought and  more  writing  of  plans.  Then,  too,  even  in 
the  accustomed  grade  and  with  familiar  material,  the 
teacher  will  find  himself  kept  in  good  pedagogical  form 
if  he  now  and  then  writes  a  complete  plan.  Such  effort 
not  only  prevents  backsliding,  but  makes  for  progress 
in  efficiency  of  teaching. 

d.  Making    plans   cannot   safely   be   discontinued. 
Planning  can  never  safely  be  discontinued.  It  has  been 
one  of   the  drawbacks  of   education  that  so  many 
teachers  have  faced  their  pupils  day  after  day  with  no 
preparation  and  no  definite  idea  of  what  they  intended 
to  do.   They  went  to  school  in  the  morning  and  things 
simply  happened  in  succession.   Progress  was  largely 


MAKING  LESSON  PLANS  285 

accidental.  To  remedy  such  conditions,  plan-making 
is  necessary.  On  the  other  hand,  a  teacher  who  has  so 
thoroughly  mastered  the  work  of  a  given  grade  that  he 
can  see  nothing  new  in  it  which  requires  fresh  effort  on 
his  part  should  ask  to  be  transferred  to  another  grade. 
He  has  become  stale  in  the  place  where  he  is  and  his 
class  is  sure  to  suffer. 

Summary.  (1)  A  lesson  plan  is  necessary  in  order  that  the 
desired  results  may  be  accomplished  surely  and  econorai- 
ically.  (2)  A  plan  should  show  the  specific  purposes,  the 
subject-matter  in  large  perspective,  and  the  proposed 
method  of  bringing  the  pupils  in  touch  with  the  subject- 
matter.  It  should  indicate  the  references  and  illustrations 
to  be  employed ;  also,  the  provision  for  verification  and  appli- 
cation. (3)  Under  specific  purposes  should  be  indicated  what 
is  to  be  accomplished  through  the  subject-matter  of  this 
particular  plan.  (4)  Through  the  outline  from  the  teacher's 
point  of  view  should  be  shown  in  a  few  inclusive  headings 
the  subject-matter  in  the  order  of  dependence,  or  in  the 
chronological  order.  (5)  Under  class  procedure  should  be 
shown  how  the  teacher  expects  to  bring  the  pupils'  aim  to 
the  consciousness  of  the  pupils;  also,  the  statement  of  that 
aim.  Following  this  should  appear  the  arrangement  of  the 
subject-matter  as  the  pupils  are  to  approach  it,  together 
with  the  questions  which  will  introduce  the  main  points  and 
direct  the  thought  forward.  In  this  part  of  the  plan  should 
appear  the  provision  for  reviews,  summaries,  drills,  and  as- 
signments, the  references  and  illustrative  material;  also, 
the  provision  for  verification,  application,  and  memorizing. 
(6)  In  teaching  from  a  plan,  a  teacher  should  use  it  as  a 
guide  and  not  be  a  slave  to  it.  He  should  have  the  main 
points  in  mind,  and  should  refer  to  the  plan  as  little  as  pos- 
sible. (7)  Under  general  considerations,  it  is  suggested  that 


236  TYPES  OF  TEACHING 

the  making  of  full  plans  is  part  of  the  process  of  making 
teachers;  that  teachers  in  charge  of  classes  should  divide  the 
term's  work  into  large  units,  and  deal  with  these  units  in  their 
plans;  that  they  should  gradually  learn  to  condense  plans; 
and  that  they  should  finally  learn  to  carry  the  plans  in  mem- 
ory excepting  the  few  details  which  need  to  be  used  for  refer- 
ence. It  is  suggested  that  plan-making  can  never  be  safely 
discontinued,  and  that  even  strong  teachers  are  benefitted 
by  preparing  complete,  detailed  plans  occasionally.  Teach* 
ers  who  are  shirking  should  be  required  to  do  so. 

REFERENCES:  C.  A.  and  F.  M.  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the  Reci- 
tation, chap,  xiv;  W.  W.  Charters,  Methods  of  Teaching,  chap,  xxv; 
S.  C.  Parker.  Methods  of  Teaching  in  High  Schools,  chap.  xxi. 


APPENDIX 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  LESSON  PLANS 

I.   The  topic. 

II.  The  teacher's  aim.  (A  specific  statement  of  the  responses  of 
knowledge,  attitude,  feeling,  action,  conduct,  or  skill  which  the 
teacher  intends  to  secure.) 

III.  Brief  analysis  of  the  topic,  showing  the  principal  things  which 
must  be  known  or  done  in  order  that  the  teacher's  aims  may  be 
accomplished.    Only  the  most  important  points  should  be 
given,  and  these  should  be  arranged  in  logical  order  when  such 
an  order  exists. 

IV.  Procedure,  and  the  psychological  arrangement  of  the  subject- 
matter  to  be  taught. 


Subject-Matter 

1 

Former  ideas  and  activities 
which  serve  as  an  introduction 
to  the  new  topic. 


2 

Organisation  of  the  knowl- 
edge or  experiences  which  con- 
stitute the  subject-matter  of  the 
new  topic.  The  material  should 
be  arranged  in  detail  in  topical 
form,  and  in  the  order  in  which 
it  will  probably  be  taken  up ;  i.e., 
in  psychological  order  rather 
than  in  logical  order.  The  books 


Procedure 


Questions,  conversation,  or 
review  of  former  activities  to 
help  the  pupils  recall  or  reor- 
ganize previous  ideas  or  experi- 
ences which  are  necessary  as  a 
basis  for  the  new  knowledge  and 
which  pave  the  way  for  its  intro- 
duction. This  preliminary  exer- 
cise should  lead  the  class  to  de- 
sire the  new  work  and  to  appre- 
ciate its  value,  and  out  of  it 
should  come  the  aim  as  stated  by 
the  pupils. 


The  teacher's  procedure  in 
causing  the  class  to  gain  or  or- 
ganize the  new  knowledge  or 
experience  the  new  activity.  It 
should  include  the  pivotal  ques- 
tions which  introduce  the  main 
topics  as  indicated  under  Sub- 
ject-Matter 2.  It  should  show 
what  illustrations,  illustrative 


238 


APPENDIX 


to  be  used  should  be  named  and 
the  pages  given. 


materials,  and  motor  activities 
the  teacher  will  employ.  It. 
should  indicate,  also,  the  place 
and  nature  of  the  summaries, 
reviews,  drills,  and  assignments 
which  occur  during  the  devel- 
opment of  the  topic. 

3 

Means  by  which  the  teacher 
proposes  to  test  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  aim.  Questions 
may  be  asked  or  topics  assigned 
which  involve  the  use  of  the  new 
knowledge  in  some  other  relation 
than  the  one  employed  in  class. 
The  use  of  the  ideas  may  be 
shown  in  the  execution  of  some 
constructive  work  or  in.  some 
social  activity. 


REFERENCES:  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the  Recitation,  chaps, 
vi-ix  and  xiv.  Bagley,  The  Educative  Process,  chaps,  xix-xxn. 
Thorndike,  Principles  of  Teaching,  chaps,  i  and  x.  Strayer,  Syllabus 
of  a  Course  on  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teaching  in  the  Elementary 
Schools.  Teachers  College  Record,  January,  1903,  p.  60.  McMurry, 
How  to  Study  and  Teaching  How  to  Study.  Earhart,  Teaching  Chil- 
dren to  Study. 


Statement  of  the  results  which 
the  teacher  expects  in  the  class 
as  a  consequence  of  the  treat- 
ment of  the  new  topic.  —  (See 
under  "The  teacher's  aim," 
above.) 


LESSON  PLAN  IN  READING  FOR  THE  FIRST 
GRADE1 

I.  Topic:  This  little  pig  went  to  market. 
II.   Teacher's  aims. 

(1)  To  have  pupils  read  from  blackboard,  chart,  and  book, 
the  Mother  Goose  rhyme,  "This  little  pig  went  to  market,*' 
which  they  already  know  by  sound. 

(2)  To  have  them  learn  to  recognize  at  sight  the  words  and 
phrases  listed  below  under  2  C. 

III.  Procedure  and  subject-matter. 


Svbject-Matter 

1 

A.  This  pig  went  to  market; 
This  pig  stayed  at  home; 
This  pig  had  a  bit  of  meat; 
This  pig  had  none; 
This  pig  said,  "Wee,  wee, 

wee, 
I  can't  find  my  way  home." 


Procedure 
1 

A.  What  Mother  Goose  rhyme 
did  we  read  in  the  last  lesson? 

Which  one  did  Althea's 
mother  tell  her?  (Althea  re- 
cites "This  pig,"  etc.) 

See  if  I  put  it  on  the  board 
as  Althea  said  it. 

B.  (Pupils'  aim.) 

To  see  if  the  rhyme  on  the 
board  is  like  Althea's  rhyme. 


A.  See  A  under  1  above. 


B.  See  A  under  1  above. 


2 

A.  Write    first   line   in    script. 
Have  it  read  by  pupil. 

Treat  other  lines  similarly* 
Finally  have  entire  rhyme 

read  by  individuals  and  by 

class  as  a  whole. 

B.  Present  printed  chart  show- 
ing same  rhyme. 

Pupils  read  rhyme  from 

chart. 


>  Baaed  upon  a  lesson  given  by  Miaa  Clara  Jamea,  formerly  of  the  Speyet 
School,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 


240 


APPENDIX 


C.  went,  home,  pig,  market, 
find,  meat,  a  bit,  to  market, 
at  home,  stayed,  of  meat, 
This  pig,  I  can't,  my. 


D.  Rhyme  in  book. 


C.  Teacher  to  show  cards  each 
containing  a  word  or  phrase. 

Pupils  to  find  the  same 
word  on  blackboard  and 
chart. 

D.  Pupils  read  rhyme  in  book. 

3 

E.  What  did  Althea's  mother 
teach   her?     Is   it   like   the 
rhyme  in  our   book?    Is  it 
like  the  rhyme  on  the  black- 
board? 


LESSON  PLAN  IN  COMPOSITION  FOR  THE 
SECOND  GRADE1 

I.  Topic:  A  recipe  for  lemonade. 
II.  Teacher's  aim:  To  have  pupils  prepare  and  copy  a  recipe  for 

making  lemonade. 
III.  Subject-matter  and  procedure. 


Subject-Matter 

I 
A.  Use  of  a  recipe. 


Procedure 

1 

A.  Mr.  W.'s  class  tried  to  make 
lemonade,  but  did  not  like  it. 
They  like  our  kind  better. 
How  can  we  let  them  know 
how  we  made  ours? 
(Pupils'  aim.) 
To  write  a  recipe  for  Mr. 
W.'s  class,   telling  how   to 
make  good  lemonade. 


A.  To  make  lemonade  for  18 
people. 

Juice  of  6  lemons. 

18  teaspoons  of  sugar. 

18  cups  of  water. 

Stir  juice  and  sugar  well, 
then  add  the  water. 


A.  How  many  pupils  in  our 
class?  We  shall  write  the 
recipe  for  lemonade  for  18 
people. 

How  many  lemons  used? 

How  much  sugar? 

And  last  of  all? 

Mr.  W.'s  lemonade  was 
not  good  because  he  did  not 
stir  it  well.  What  shall  we 
write  to  help  him?  Then 
what?  (Explain  add  if 
necessary.) 

Each  pupil  to  copy  recipe 
for  Mr.  W.'s  class. 


1  Baaed  upon  a  lesson  given  by  Miss  Mott  of  the  Ethical  Culture  School, 
New  York  City. 


LESSON  PLAN  IN  COMPOSITION  FOR  THE 
THIRD  GRADE1 

I.  Topic:  The  School  Assembly. 
II.  Teacher's  aim:  To  train  the  pupils  in  preparing  an  outline  for  a 

written  composition  on  the  school  assembly. 
III.  Procedure,  and  arrangement  of  subject-matter. 


Subject-Matter 

1 

A.  The  assembly. 
Hymn. 
Plays. 
Indian  letter,  etc. 


Procedure 

1 

A.  How  many  were  absent  from 
assembly,  last  Friday?  Who 
were  present?  Did  you  enjoy 
it?  What  parts  did  you  en- 
joy? How  can  you  share 
your  pleasure  with  those  of 
the  class  who  were  not  there? 

(Pupils'  aim.) 

To  write  an  account  of  the 
last  assembly  for  those  mem- 
bers of  the  class  who  were 
absent. 

What  shall  we  need  to 
think  about  in  writing  this 
account? 

(Pupils'  second  aim.) 

To  determine  the  title  and 
the  topics  for  the  composi- 
tion. 


A.  Possible  suggestions:  — 

The  third  assembly. 
Our  third  assembly. 
Second  and  fourth  grade. 
Assembly. 

B.  (A    possible    outline.     The 
pupils  may  vary  from  this. 
Their  order  will  be  accepted 


A.  Suggest  a  good  title. 
(Pupils  and  teacher  inspect 
titles   and   select    the    best 
offered,  with  reasons  for  se- 
lection.) 

B.  What  are  the  things  we  shall 
want  to  write  about  in  our 
stories? 


>  Baaed  upon  a  lesson  conducted  in  the  Demonstration  School  of  the  Co* 
himbia  University  Summer  Session  by  Miaa  Roxaaa  Steele. 


APPENDIX 


243 


as  given  if  it  is  good.  If  it  ia 
faulty,  they  will  be  helped  to 
correct  it.) 

(1)  Opening  exercises. 

(2)  Announcements. 

By  Ruth  Helter. 
By    three    fifth-grade 
boys. 

(3)  Program. 

Play  by  the  second 
grade  —  The  Pot  of  Gold. 
Play  by  the  fourth  grade 
—  Peace  Pipe,  from  Hia- 
watha. 

A  real  Indian  letter. 


C.  The  composition. 


C.  Pupils  write  their  accounts. 
Teacher  to  give  individual  or 
class  help  as  needed. 

D.  The   compositions   will   oc- 
cupy more  than  one  lesson 
period.      When    completed, 
they  are  to  be  read  aloud  to 

class. 


LESSON  PLAN   IN  NATURE  STUDY  FOR  THE 
THIRD  GRADE1 

I.  Topic:  The  fish. 
II.   The  teacher's  aims. 

(1)  To  prepare  children  for  a  trip  to  the  aquarium. 

(2)  To  present  the  principle  of  adaptation  to  environment  sa 
illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  fish. 

III.  Subject-matter  and  procedure. 


Subject-Matter 


Procedure 


A.  Goldfish  in  aquarium  in  the 
classroom. 


B.  (1)  Scales. 

Overlap  and  form  cov- 
ering. 

Protect  from  the  water 
and  from  objects  in 
water,  etc. 

(2)  Shape  of  fish. 

Like  wedge   or   boat. 
~  *  Cuts  through  water. 

(3)  Tail. 

Narrow  where  it  joins 
body.    Acts  as  a  rudder. 
Helps  in  swimming. 

(4)  Fins. 

Used  for  balance  and 
swimming. 


A.  I  have  noticed  how  much 
you  enjoy  the  goldfish  which 
Miss  W.  has  sent  to  visit  us. 
Did  you  ever  stop  to  think 
how  it  is  that  fish  can  live  in 
water?  Let  us  find  as  many 
answers  as  we  can  to  the 
question. 

(Pupils'  aim.) 
How  is  it  possible  for  fish 
to  live  in  water? 

B.  Choose  some  part  of  the  fish 
and  tell  how  it  helps  the  fish 
to  live  in  the  water. 


(If  children  are  slow  in 
answering,  name  the  parts 
first  and  record  answers  on 
the  blackboard.  Use  black- 
board drawings  freely.  Mo- 
tions of  the  hand  help  to 
make  clear  the  ideas  of 
wedge-shaped,  rudder,  etc.) 


1  Adapted  from  a  lesson  plan  prepared  by  Miss  Roxana  Steele.  of  the 
Mann  School,  Teachers  College,  Columbia. University. 


Horace 


APPENDIX 


245 


Those  at  top  and  bot- 
tom serve  as  center- 
board;  those  at  sides,  as 
oars. 

(5)  Eyes. 

No  eyelids. 

Horny  covering  for 
protection. 

Eyes  project.  Can  see 
in  all  directions. 

(6)  Gills. 

Used  to  feed  and 
breathe. 

Water  goes  in  mouth 
and  out  gills. 

(7)  Air  bladder. 

Used  to  raise  and 
lower  fish  in  the  water. 


C.  Do  you  suppose  there  are 
still  more  answers  that  we 
have  not  thought  of? 

Where  can  we  find  the 
answers? 

We  are  going  to  visit  the 
aquarium  where  you  will  pro- 
bably find  many  other  an- 
swers. Then  we  shall  have 
another  lesson  to  hear  what 
yeu  have  discovered. 


LESSON  PLAN  IN  LANGUAGE  FOR  THE 
FOURTH  GRADE1 

I.   Topic:  Three  Golden  Apples;  Hercules  and  Atlas. 
II.   The  teacher's  aims. 

(1)  A  knowledge  of  the  portion  of  the  story  in  which  Herculea 
meets  Atlas. 

(2)  Through  acquaintance  with  this  story,  to  further  the  appre- 
ciation of  good  literature. 

(3)  The  development  of  a  simple  outline  of  the  story. 

(4)  Oral  reproduction  of  the  story  for  clear,  definite  statements 
and  adequate  expression  of  feeling. 

III.  Procedure,  and  psychological  arrangement  of  the  subject- 
matter. 


Subject-Matter 

1 

The  journey  in  the  golden 
bowl.  (Review.) 


Procedure 
1 

Where  did  Hercules  go  after 
leaving  Africa?  How  did  he 
make  this  journey?  What  shall 
we  find  out  next? 

(Pupils'  aim.) 

What  happened  to  Hercules 
after  his  journey  in  the  golden 
bowl? 


Hercules  and  Atlas.  (The  teacher  tells  the  story, 

A.  Meeting  the  giant.  observing  order  of  points,  and 

(1)  His  appearance.  by  tone  and  manner  making  the 

(2)  The  storm.  story    dramatic,    bringing    out 

B.  Hercules'  errand.  dialogue  clearly.) 

(1)  The  giant's  offer. 

(2)  Hercules  takes  the  bur- 
den. 

C.  Atlas'  journey. 

(1)  Securing  the  apples. 

(2)  His  return. 

D.  The  giant's  second  offer. 
(1)  Hercules'  relief. 

>  Prepared  in  the  Practice  School  of   the  Rhode   Island   State   Normal 
School. 


APPENDIX 


247 


3 

I.  The  need  of  an  outline  as 
shown  by  tendency  to  lose 
the  place. 

II.   The  outline  as  prepared  by 
the  pupils. 

REFERENCES:  Bulfinch,  The 
Age  of  Fable.  Gayley,  Classic 
Myths.  Hawthorne,  The  Won- 
der-Book. 


3 

What  difficulty  have  we  found 
in  the  story-telling? 

What  can  we  do  that  will  help 
us? 

(Conversation  with  the  chil- 
dren to  develop  a  plan  for  or- 
derly arrangement  of  the  new 
material.  Children  begin  telling 
the  story  in  sections.) 


SHORT  LESSON  PLAN  IN  GEOGRAPHY  FOR 
THE  FOURTH  GRADE1 

I.  Teacher's  aim:  To  teach  names  of  continents  and  oceans. 

II.  Pupils'  aim :  To  be  able  to  tell  from  the  map  of  the  world  how 
people  from  the  different  continents  will  reach  the  World's  Fair 
in  San  Francisco  in  1015. 

III.  Subject-matter  and  procedure. 


Subjeci-Matter 

A.  Stockholm,  Atlantic  Ocean; 
Panama    Canal,    Pacific 
Ocean. 

B.  (New     situation     involving 
teaching    of    directions    on 
map.) 


Procedure 

A.  Tell  how  a  little  Swedish  girl 
can  reach  San  Francisco. 


B.  How  can  a  little  boy  from 
China  come? 

(Lesson  to  continue  on  this 
plan.  May  cover  five  or  six 
periods.) 

1  Prepared  by  Mrs.  M.  A.  Oliver  in  the  Demonstration  School  of  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University. 


AN  INDUCTIVE  DEVELOPMENT  LESSON  IN 
ARITHMETIC1 

I.   Topic:  The  multiplication  of  a  decimal  by  a  decimal. 
II.   Teacher's  aim:  To  lead  children  to  the  generalization  that  the 
number  of  decimal  places  in  the  product  equals  the  sum  of 
those  in  the  multiplicand  and  multiplier. 
Subject-matter  and  procedure. 


III. 

Subject-Matter 

1 

A.  Data  based  on  Mass.  Com- 
missiou'sCost  of  Living,  1910. 
Breadstuff s  cost  8.9;%  of 
total  amount  (9  %  used); 
sugar,  5|  % ;  eggs,  3.7  % 
(4  %  used);  potatoes,  3  %. 


Procedure 

1 

A.  What  percent  of  the  total 
amount  spent  for  food  is 
spent  for  breadstuffs?  For 
sugar?  Eggs?  Potatoes? 


B.  Show   how   we   found    the 
amount  spent  for  breadstuff 3 
when  the  total  amount  for 
the  month  is  $36. 

C.  How  shall  we  find  the  daily 
amount  based  on  a  daily  ex- 
penditure of  $1.20? 

(Children  try  with  the  ex- 
pected result  that  they  will 
see  the  need  for  some  guide.) 

(Pupils'  aim.) 
To  learn  how  to  multiply 
one  decimal  by  another. 


A.  (1)  .4  X  .2    may 

written  A  x 


also    be      A.  (1)  Teacher  places  on  board 
r  -  .4  X  .2  -? 

Pupils  read  it. 
Write       as    fractions. 
(  ^  x  A  -).     What    is 
the  result  of  the  multi- 
plication? (ifa) 

Write   the   answer  in 
decimal  form.  (.08) 

i  Adapted  from  a  plan  prepared  by  Miss  Blanche  E.  Campbell,  of  the 
Speyer  School,  Teachers  College. 


250 


APPENDIX 


(2)  .4  X  .2  -  .08 

(3)  .4 
.2 

.08 

(4)  .3     X.12 
.04  X  .11 
.5     X  .125 
.11  X.123 

3 

A.  (1)  Rule  for  pointing  off  in 
multiplication  of  deci- 
mals. (See  Teacher's 
aim.) 


(2)  Verification. 

(See  Thorndike'a  Princi- 
ples of  Teaching,  p.  159. 
Smith's  Grammar  School 
Arithmetic,  p.  107.) 


(2)  Complete  the  statement 
.4  X  .2  = 

(3)  Write  it  in  the  usual  font 
of  multiplying. 

(4)  Treat  each  one  of  these 
expressions   as  you    did 
.4  X   .2  and   write   the 
answers. 

3 

A.  (1)  What  relation  do  you  see 
between  the  number  of 
places  in  the  product  and 
those  in  the  numbers 
which  we  multiplied  to- 
,  gether? 

(It  may  be  necessary  to 
break  this  up  into  smaller 
questions.) 

(2)  a.  By  appeal  to  facts. 
b.  By  appeal  to  author- 
ity. 


A*  (1)  The  amount  spent  for 
breadstuff s  is  9%  of  en- 
tire expenditure  for  food. 
Find  the  cost  of  bread- 
stuffs  for  one  day  when 
SI  .20  is  spent  for  food. 

(2)  Same  for  butter,  9  %. 

(3)  Same  for  milk,  8  %. 

(4)  Same  for  sugar,  5J  %. 

(5)  Same  for  potatoes,  3  %. 

(6)  Same  for  eggs,  4  %. 

(7)  Same  for  meats,  48  %. 

(8)  How  much  of  the  $1.20 
is  left  for  all  other  items 
of  food? 

0.  Restatement  of  rule  for  de- 
termining the  number  of  dec- 
imal places  in  the  product. 


A.  Home  work. 


B.  How  will  you  know  how 
many  decimal  places  to  point 
off  in  the  various  products? 


LESSON  PLAN  IN  GEOGRAPHY  FOR  THE 
SIXTH  GRADE1 

I.  Topic:  Climate  of  the  Western  States. 
II.   Teacher's  aims. 

(1)  To  teach  the  facts  about  the  variations  of  climate  in  the 
Western  States. 

(2)  To  trace  the  causes  of  these  climatic  conditions. 

(3)  To  lead  pupils  to  a  keener  appreciation  of  the  close  ties 
binding  widely  separated  sections  of  the  country. 

III.  Topical  outline. 

Climate  of  the  Western  States. 

A.  Climatic  conditions  in  West  as  inferred  from  — 

(1)  Animal  and  vegetable  products. 

(2)  Fame  of  many  health  resorts. 

B.  Range  of  temperature  in  West  — 

(1)  According  to  districts. 

(2)  According  to  seasons. 

C.  Distribution  of  rainfall  — 

(1)  According  to  districts. 

(2)  According  to  seasons. 

D.  Causes  of  these  conditions  — 

(1)  Latitude. 

(2)  Elevation. 

(3)  Winda. 

(4)  Ocean  currents. 

E.  Effects  upon  products  and  people. 

IV.  Procedure,  and  psychological  arrangement  of  subject-matter. 

Subject-Matter  Procedure 

1  1 

A.  (1)  New  England's  depend-      A.  a.  In     yesterday's     lesson, 

ence  upon  West  for  what  materials  did  we  find 

a.  Raw     materials     for  that   New   England    ob- 

manufacturing.  tains  from  the  West  for 

Metals  —  gold,  sil-  use  in  manufacturing? 

ver,  copper,  mercury, 
etc. 

Animal  products  — 
wool,  hides. 

1  Adapted  from  a  lesson  plan  prepared  in  the  Practice  School  of  the  Rhode 
Island  State  Normal  School. 


25Z 


APPENDIX 


6.  Food  products  — 

Fruits,  fresh  — 
oranges,  lemons,  figs, 
apricots,  peaches,  cher- 
ries, plums,  apples. 

Fruits,  dried  — 
prunes,  raisins,  evap- 
orated peaches,  apri- 
cots, etc. 

Olives,  olive  oil, 
wine. 

Grain — wheat,  corn, 
oats,  barley,  alfalfa. 

Meat  —  beef,  pork, 
mutton. 

c.  Other     products  — 
ostriches,  cacti. 

d.  Varying    degrees    of 
fertility,    heat,    light, 
and  moisture  needed. 

Corn,  more  heat 
than  wheat. 

Sheep,  less  mois- 
ture than  cattle,  etc. 

Subtropical  and 
temperate. 


b.  What  other  products  of 
the  West  are  used  by  ua 
here  in  New  England? 

(Make  list  on  board  aa 
illustrated,  teacher  sup- 
plementing, if  necessary.) 


e.  (Same  as  b  above.   Show 

cactus,  if  possible.) 
d.  Why  do  we  not  raise  these 
products    for    ourselves? 

(Consider  individual 
cases.) 

What  conditions  are 
necessary  for  their  pro- 
duction? Are  these  condi- 
tions equally  necessary 
for  all  products?  Illus- 
trate. 

Classify  products  to 
•ones.  We  know  that  all 
these  various  products  are 
grown  in  the  West,  al- 
though many  of  them  can- 
not be  raised  in  New  Eng- 
land. To  understand  how 
this  can  be  so,  what  must 
we  learn  about  the  West- 
ern States? 

(Pupils'  aim.) 

Since  these  products 
are  all  found  in  the  West 
and  the  requisites  for 
growth  are  so  different, 
what  must  be  true  of  the 
climate  in  that  section? 


A.  (1)  Discovery  of  gold. 


A.  (1)  What  first  caused  migra- 
tion from  the  East  to  the 
Far  West? 


APPENDIX 


253 


(2)  Search  for  health. 

a.  Resorts  visited. 

Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  Arizona,  and 
Southern  California 
have  many ;  e.g.,  Colo- 
rado Springs,  Las  Ve- 
gas, Hot  Springs,  Los 
Angeles,  Pasadena, 
etc. 

b.  Climate  favorable. 

Dry,  pure  air,  sun- 
light, equable  temper- 
ature. 

REFERENCES:  (Pamphlets  is- 
sued by  railroads,  Arizona 
Health  Resorts,  California, 
Colorado  Outings,  etc.) 


B.  Winter      Summer 

Rocky  Mts.     20-30°        60-70° 
Plateau  30-40"        70-80° 

N.W  Coast      40-50°        60-70° 
S.W.  Coast      Over  50°    60° 
Montana  0-10°        60-70° 

Range  between  seasons 
in  Montana  60° 
in  S.W.  Coast  10° 
in  N.W.  Coast  20° 


(2)  For  what  reasons  have 
people  more  recently  left 
the  East  to  live  in  the 
West? 

Name  some  of  the 
most  famous  health  re- 
sorts of  the  West. 

From  what  disease  are 
most  of  the  health- 
seekers  sufferers? 

What  climatic  condi- 
tions are  needed  by  con- 
sumptives? 

What  may  we  assume 
as  to  the  existence  of 
these  conditions  in  the 
West? 

Give  information  as  to 
climatic  conditions  in 
Southwest  to  supplement 
inferences. 

(Summarize  informa- 
tion about  climate  gained 
from  consideration  of 
products  and  health 
resorts.) 

B.  What  is  the  average  winter 
temperature  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  system?  Of  pla- 
teau region?  Of  northwest 
coast?  Where  coldest  in 
winter?  Warmest?  (Other 
similar  questions.  Same  pro- 
cedure with  summer  tem- 
perature.) 

(Refer  to  isothermal 
charts,  Tarr  and  McMurry, 
part  in,  pp.  72,  73:  Frye,  p. 
75.  Give  pupils  practice  in 
reading  charts.) 

What  is  the  difference  be- 
tween the  summer  and  win- 
ter temperatures  on  coast, 
plateaus,  mountains?  Where 
is  the  climate  most  equable? 
Most  extreme? 

(Summarize  knowledge 
gained  from  charts.) 


254 


APPENDIX 


C.  (Refer  to  pupils'  aims.) 


D.  (Pupils  should  ask  questions 
about  amount  of  rainfall, 
causes  of  varying  conditions 
found,  and  the  effects  of  the 
various  kinds  of  climate  upon 
productions,  occupations, 
etc.) 


REFERENCES:  Carpenter's 
North  America.  Tarr  and  Mc- 
Murry's  North  America.  Frye's 
Grammar  School  Geography. 
Railroad  pamphlets. 


Ci  What  question  are  we  trying 
to  answer?  What  have  w« 
learned  about  it  thus  far? 

D.  What  other  questions  about 
the  climate  of  the  Western 
States  should  we  answer? 


E.  Individual    assignments    of 
topics  to  various  pupils. 


LESSON  PLAN  IN  GEOGRAPHY  FOR  THE 
SIXTH  GRADE1 

I.  Topic:  Irrigation  in  the  Western  States. 
II.   Teacher's  aims. 

(1)  To  teach  the  facts  about  irrigation  in  the  West. 

(2)  To  arouse  or  increase  the  interest  of  the  class  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  West  and  in  its  possibilities. 

(3)  To  further  an  appreciation  of  the  difficulties  with  which  the 
people  in  the  rainless  areas  must  contend. 

III.  Analysis  of  topic.  Pupils  must  know:  — 

(1)  Main  factors  necessary  to  plant  growth. 

(2)  Effect  of  lack  of  sufficient  moisture  upon  vegetation  and 
indirectly  upon  density  of  population  in  the  region  affected. 

(3)  That  there  are  large  areas  of  unproductive  land  in  the 
United  States,   which  if  they  could  be  made  productive 
would  meet  the  demand  for  farm  lands  and  would  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  the  increasing  population  of  the 
United  States,  as  well  as  of  other  parts  of  the  world. 

(4)  The  location  and  extent  of  the  unproductive  regions,  the 
reasons  for  their  unproductiveness,  and  the  possible  sources 
of  water  supply.  • 

(5)  The  processes  of  irrigation;  the  reclamation  service;  results 
of  irrigation  upon  crops  and  upon  density  of  population  in 
the  regions  where  the  process  has  been  introduced. 

IV.  Procedure,  and  arrangement  of  subject-matter  to  be  taught. 

Suhject-Matter  Procedure 

I  1 

A.  Increased  cost  of  fruit  and      A.  How  many  of  you  know  how 
vegetables  in  summer  and  the  prices  of  fruits  and  vege- 

f all  of  dry  season.  Cause  —  tables   during   the  summer 

email  crops  due  to  drought.  and  fall  of  this  year  compare 

with  preceding  year's  prices? 
(Conversation  with  those 
who  know  so  as  to  bring  out 
the  greatly  increased  prices 
in  some  years.)  What  causes 
the  high  prices  usually? 

1  Prepared  by  the  author  for  the  Syllabus  of  a  Course  on  the  Theory  aruf 
Practice  of  Teaching  in  Elementary  Schools,  published  by  Teachers  College, 
Columbia  University .j 


256 


APPENDIX 


B.  Fertile  soil,  heat,  light,  and 
moisture  necessary  to  plant 
growth. 


C.  Lack  of  moisture  causes  par- 
tial or  total  failure  of  crops. 
In  dry  regions  there  is  little 
vegetation  and  consequently 
but  few  people  live  in  such 
places. 


D.  Almost  continuous  drought 
with   consequent  dearth  of 
vegetation  and  scanty  popu- 
lation the  condition  in  a  large 
part  of  the  Western  States 
(the  Plateau  States  and  the 
Pacific  States).   One  fifth  of 
total  area  of  United  States  is 
arid.     (For   tables   showing 
population,  see  Tarr  and  Mc- 
Murry,    Geography,    Second 
Book,  pp.  424-30,  or  Dodge, 
Adv.  Geog.,  p.  7  of  Appendix.) 

E.  The  arid  region  is  very  large. 
(Maps,  and  tables  of  areas.) 
The  population  of  the  United 
States  is  increasing.  There  is 
a  demand   for  farm   lands. 
There  is  a  great  demand  from 
foreign  countries  for  food- 
stuffs. 


B.  In  order  that  plants  in  the 
garden  or  crops  in  the  fields 
may  grow  well,  what  condi- 
tions are  necessary? 

C.  In  this  region,  which  of  these 
factors  is  sometimes  lacking? 
Refer  to  drought  of  summer 
of  1907.   What  is  the  effect 
upon  vegetation  when  but 
little   rain   falls  during  the 
entire  summer?   When  year 
after  year  there  is  little  or  no 
rainfall?  How  about  the  den- 
sity of  population  in  such  a 
country  even  when  tempera- 
ture and  soil  are  favorable  to 
plant  growth? 

D.  In  previous  lessons  we  have 
learned  that  there  are  exten- 
sive arid  regions  in  our  own 
country.  In  what  part  of  the 
country   are   they   located? 
Name  the  States  included. 
Compare  the  population  of 
the  Plateau  States  with  that 
of  any  other  equal  number  of 
States  or  with  that  of  each  of 
the  three  largest  cities  in  the 
United  States. 


E.  Is  it  of  significance  to  the 
country  as  a  whole  that  these 
regions  remain  unproductive? 


F.  What  problems  grow  out  of 
the  situation  ? 

(Pupils'  aims.) 

a.  Can  these  arid  regions  be 
made  productive?   If  so, 
how? 
1.  What  will  be  the  effects 


APPENDIX 


257 


produced  in  case  these 
large  tracts  of  land  can  be 
brought  under  cultivation? 


A.  Means  for  overcoming  effects 
of  drought. 

a.  In  limited  areas  —  sprink- 
ling, watering  by  hand. 

6.  In  extensive  areas  —  irri- 
gation. 

(Tarr  and  McMurry,(?eo0.f 
Second  Book,  p.  286. 
Dodge,  Adv.  Geog.,  p.  166. 
King,  Adv.  Geog.,  pp.  141- 
46.) 

6.  Sources  of  water  supply. 
o.  Rivers. 

b.  Mountain  streams  fed  by 
rain,  snow,  or  glaciers. 

c.  Artesian  wells. 

d.  Lakes. 

(T.  and  M.  Geog.,  See. 
Book,  p.  297.  Dodge's 
Adv.  Geog.,  p.  172.  King's 
Adv.  Geog.,  p.  142.  Review 
of  Reviews,  xxxi,  701-04.) 

C.  The  process  of  irrigation. 

a.  Water  storage,  reservoirs, 
dams. 

b.  Ditches  or  canals. 

c.  Surface  irrigation. 

d.  Sub-irrigation. 

(See  geographies  quoted 
under  B  above.)  Pop.  Sci. 
Mo.,  LXVII,  684,  686. 


A.  When  the  lawns  or  gardens 
in  our  part  of  the  country 
grow  too  dry,  how  are  they 
kept  growing?   What  means 
must  be  employed  to  provide 
water  in  very  large  areas? 
Are  these  means  used  in  the 
Plateau  and  Pacific  States? 

(Class  consult  the  refer- 
ences named.) 

B.  Where  can  the  water  be  ob- 
tained for  irrigating  purposes 
in  these  dry  areas? 

(Conversation.  Assign- 
ment to  books  in  use  by  all 
of  the  class.  Assign  article  in 
Review  of  Reviews,  xxxi, 
701-04,  to  a  pupil  as  a 
special  topic.) 


C.  How  can  the  supply  of  water 
which  falls  during  the  rainy 
season  be  kept  for  use  during 
the  dry  season? 

(Assignment  of  special 
topics  relating  to  particular 
subjects.) 

How  is  the  water  in  the  reser- 
voirs of  rivers  distributed  to 
the  fields  when  it  is  needed? 

(Illustrate  by  an  outdoor 
lesson;  or  if  the  nature  of  the 
country  is  not  suited  to  illus- 
trate the  process,  use  the 
sand  table  and  construct  a 
system  of  irrigation  showing 
reservoir,  main  canals,  and 
the  distributing  ditches.  As- 
sign sub-irrigation  as  a 
special  topic.) 


258 


APPENDIX 


D.  The  reclamation  service, 
a.  The  nature  of  its  work. 
6.  The  territory  affected. 

(See  The  World's  Work, 
December,  1907.) 

E.  How  the  Government  gets 
.     its  money  back. 

a.  Sale  of  land  in  tracts  not 
exceeding  160  acres  to  an 
individual. 

6.  Payment    in    ten    equal 
annual  installments. 
(  The  Cosmopolitan,  xxxvn, 
715-22.  The  World's  Work, 
December,  1907.) 

F.  The  effects  of  irrigation. 
a.  Upon  agriculture. 

(See  geographies  quoted 
above;  also  The  Cosmopoli- 
tan, xxxvii,  718-22.  The 
World's  Work,  December, 
1907.) 

,  6.  Upon    secondary     indus- 
tries. 

c.  Upon  population  in  the 
areas  irrigated. 
(King's  Adv.  Geog.,  pp. 
162-54;  also  other  geogra- 
phies quoted  above.  The 
World's  Work,  December, 
1907.) 


3 

(See  II  above.) 


D.  How  does  the  United  States 
Government  aid  in  reclaim- 
ing the  waste  lands  of  the 
West? 


E.  What  disposition  does  the 
Government  make  of  the 
reclaimed  lands? 


F.  Would  it  pay  a  man  to  buy 
a  forty-acre  tract  in  the  irri- 
gated region?  What  crops 
could  he  produce?  Value  of 
crops?  (Estimated.)  Where 
there  are  prosperous  farming 
communities,  what  other  in- 
dustries are  possible?  Are 
they  found  in  the  irrigated 
districts?  With  agriculture, 
fruit  growing,  and  other  in- 
dustries made  possible  and 
profitable,  what  effect  is  pro- 
duced upon  immigration  to 
the  Western  States? 

What  problems  did  we  set 
out  to  solve  in  these  lessons 
on  irrigation?  What  is  the 
answer  to  each? 

3 

A.  Topic  for  class  as  a  whole. 

a.  Value  of  forests  to  sys- 
tems of  irrigation. 

b.  Our  relations  to  the  irri- 
gated regions. 

e.  Advisability  of  introduc- 
ing irrigation  in  the  East- 
ern States. 

A.  Irrigation  in  Egypt. 

e.  Irrigation  in  India. 


APPENDIX  259 

B.  Individual  assignments. 

a.  Economy  of  water  in 
irrigating. 

6.  Fruit  growing  on  irrigated 
land. 

e.  Advantages  and  disad- 
vantages of  farming  in  the 
East  and  in  the  West. 

d.  Relative  value  to  a  State 
of  gold  mining  and  farm- 
ing. 

e.  Relation  of  irrigation  in 
the  West  to  the  people  of 
Europe. 

/.  To  the  people  in  the 
Eastern  States. 


FIRST  LESSON  OF  A  SERIES  IN  ORAL 
READING » 

I.  Teacher's  aims. 

(1)  To  set  up  a  real  reason  in  the  child's  mind  for  reading  aloud. 

(2)  To  evolve  in  simple  terms  the  standards  of  good  reading  so 
that  the  child  may  have  definite  ends  to  attain  in  his 
studying. 

II.   Pupils'  aim: 

To  evolve  a  method  of  choosing  the  four  best  readers  in  the  class. 
III.   Situation : 

The  teacher  has  been  reading  a  number  of  stories  to  the  children 
in  which  the  interest  has  been  entirely  in  the  story.     Any  in* 
Btruction  in  reading,  as  such,  has  been  taken  in  unconsciously 
by  the  child. 
IV.  Subject-matter  and  procedure. 


Subject-Matter 
Introduction. 


The  need  for  bases  of  choice. 


Procedure  . 

"I  have  been  reading  to  you 
for  quite  a  long  time.  It  is  not 
fair  for  me  to  do  all  the  reading, 
for  every  one  of  you  will  at  some 
time  or  other  have  to  read  aloud 
to  some  one  else,  so  I  am  going 
to  ask  you  to  read  our  next  story 
—  Dickens's  The  Cricket  on  the 
Hearth.  Inasmuch  as  we  have 
but  five  copies  available,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  choose  five  pu- 
pils each  day  who  will  be  respon- 
sible for  reading  the  next  day. 

"While  you  are  reading  I 
want  to  carry  on  an  experiment. 
I  am  going  to  try  to  determine 
who  are  the  four  best  readers  in 
the  class.  I  want  you  to  do  the 
same,  and  when  we  have  finished 
we  '11  compare  and  see  how  nearly 
we  agree." 

"Grace,  how  will  you  make 
your  choice?" 

"Charles,  would  you  follow 
the  same  method?" 


1  Prepared  and  taught  by  Edwin  A.  Lee  of  the  Speyer  School. 


APPENDIX 


261 


Standards  of  Reading. 

1.  Ability  to  express  thought 
author  intended. 

2.  Enunciation. 

3.  Inflection  and  expression. 

4.  Quality  of  voice. 
6.  Poise. 

Name  of  marker. 


(From  the  answers  gained 
from  these  and  other  children  it 
is  possible  that  the  next  step 
will  follow  logically.) 

"It  really  resolves  itself  into 
this  question,  does  n't  it,  —  What 
are  the  marks  of  a  good  reader? 

"If  we  can  arrive  at  a  set  of 
standards  of  good  reading,  we 
shall  have  a  real  basis  for 
choosing." 

"  Harry,  what  is  one  mark  of  a 
good  reader?  " 

From  this  point  the  lesson 
depends  on  what  one  gets  from 
the  children.  They  will,  without 
doubt,  give  numbers  one  and 
two.  Number  three  can  be  gained 
by  reading  to  them  in  a  mon- 
otone, and  asking  them  why 
they  dislike  it.  Number  four 
they  will  give  if  the  teacher  reads 
in  an  unpleasant  tone. 

Poise  is  probably  the  most 
difficult  mark  to  get  because 
that  phase  has  not  been  brought 
to  their  conscious  attention. 
Each  child  will,  however,  have 
an  appreciation  of  its  import- 
ance once  he  understands  its 
meaning. 

Here  again  the  procedure 
depends  on  the  children.  The 
thing  is  not  to  get  definite  marks 
but  the  desire  to  mark.  Therefore 
the  marking  may  be  on  a  basis  of 
1—2-3  -4—5,  or  A— B — C — 
D — E.or  Excellent — Good — Fair 
— Unsatisfactory  —  Poor.  If  the 
child  knows  that  his  comrades  are 
going  to  mark  him  Excellent  or 
Poor  on  each  of  the  five  stand- 
ards, the  chances  are  that  he  will 
strive  to  make  the  mark  high. 

Natt:  The  lesson  following  might  very  well  be  one  on  how  to  study  the 
reading  lesson  in  the  light  of  the  standards  set  up. 


How  to  use  these  standards. 


PLANS  FOR  LESSON  ASSIGNMENTS1 

I.   Subject:  Washington's  Administration. 

II.  Topics  to  be  studied :  Methods  of  raising  money  to  carry  on  the 
new  government;  how  they  worked;  how  they  were  received  by 
the  people;  the  Whiskey  Rebellion. 

III.  Preparation:  What  decision  had  Congress  reached  aa  to 
whether  all  the  debts  should  be  paid  or  not?  Did  the  Govern- 
ment have  any  money  then?  What  does  it  need  money  for? 
How  does  it  raise  money  to-day?  Do  you  suppose  Congress 
tried  any  of  these  ways  in  1789?  To-morrow  we  shall  find  out 

(1)  What  the  tariff  is. 

(2)  What  an  excise  tax  is. 

(3)  To  what  extent  these  means  of  raising  money  were  em- 
ployed. 

(4)  How  the  people  liked  these  plans. 

(5)  Whether  any  serious  difficulty  was  met  in  enforcing  them. 

I.   Subject:  Washington's  Administration. 
II.  Topics  to  be  studied :  The  National  Bank;  the  mint;  the  system 

of  coinage. 

III.  Preparation:  How  do  you  suppose  Congress  was  to  collect  the 
revenue?  What  kind  of  money  did  the  people  have  at  that 
time?  What  were  the  difficulties  with  such  a  system?  Do  you 
know  how  they  were  overcome? 

For  to-morrow,  then,  look  up  the  answers  to  these  questions 
or  think  them  out  for  yourselves:  — 

(1)  What  did  Hamilton  propose  as  a  means  to  collect  the 
revenue? 

(2)  What  were  the  arguments  for  and  against  his  plan? 
Which  side  would  you  take? 

(3)  What  plan  was  finally  adopted? 

(4)  How  did  we  come  to  have  our  present  system  of  money? 

I.  Subject:  The  War  of  1812. 

II.  Purpose :  A  summing  up  of  the  lessons  on  the  War  of  1812,  with 
especial  emphasis  on  its  justifiableness  as  considered  from  ita 
treaty  results. 

III.  Preparation:  When  did  the  Hartford  Convention  meet?  How 
were  the  difficulties  arising  from  it  stopped?  Do  you  know 

1  These  assignment  plans  belong  to  a  series  prepared  by  Miss  Lila  E.  Ben- 
ton,  of  the  State  Normal  School,  Greeley,  Colorado.  A  few  modifications  have 
been  made  because  they  have  been  taken  from  their  setting  and  presented 
separately. 


APPENDIX  263 

what  we  gained  by  this  treaty  of  peace?  What  did  we  want  to 
gain?  What  ought  we  to  find  out  about  this  treaty? 
Questions  for  study:  — 

(1)  What  were  the  provisions  of  the  treaty? 

(2)  What  did  we  gain  by  the  War  of  1812? 

(3)  From  the  results,  do  you  think  the  war  was  justifiable? 
Think  out  as  many  arguments  for  each  side  aa  you  can. 


OUTLINE 

I.  SUBJECT-MATTER:    ITS  NATURE, 
DEVELOPMENT,  AND  PURPOSES 

1.  Need  of  understanding  what  subject-matter  ia       .       .      .  1 

2.  Where  subject-matter  first  exists 1 

3.  Many  forms  of  thought  and  action 3 

4.  Need  of  transmitting  modes  of  activity 3 

6.  What  subject-matter  was  originally 4 

6.  The  integral  nature  of  subject-matter 5 

7.  Effect  of  books  upon  subject-matter 6 

8.  Subject-matter  modifiable 5 

9.  The  development  of  new  subject-matter 7 

10.  The  subject-matter  of  the  schools  and  changing  social 
conditions 8 

11.  Why  the  intrinsic  function  of  subject-matter  is  not  more 
prominent  in  the  schools 10 

12.  The  pleasure  element  in  subject-matter 13 

Summary 14 

Exercises 14 

II.  WHERE  EDUCATION  MUST  BEGIN 

1.  Ideas  more  or  less  complete  and  more  or  less  organized  .       .16 

2.  Attitudes  and  feelings 17 

3.  Native  endowment  of  instincts  and  capacities       ...  18 

4.  Acquired  modes  of  acting;  habits  fixed  or  in  the  process  of 

formation 20 

Summary 21 

Exercises 21 

m.  WHAT  SCHOOL  EDUCATION  SHOULD 
ACCOMPLISH 

1.  Education  should  remake  and  extend  experience   ...  22 

2.  Education  should  aim  toward  social  content  or  value  of 
experience 24 

3.  Education  should  increase  the  control  of  the  learner  over 

the  values  which  make  up  experience 25 

Summary 26 

Exercises 27 


266  OUTLINE 


IV.  MEANS  WHICH  AID  IN  EDUCATION 

1.  Types  of  class  procedure 28 

a.  The  telling  exercise  or  the  lecture  method  ....  28 

b.  The  object  lesson 29 

c.  The  study  of  ideas  in  relation:  inductive  and  deductive 
lessons 29 

d.  The  exercise  to  arouse  appreciation 30 

c.  The  formation  of  habits  and  the  increase  of  skill     .       .  31 

/.  Training  pupils  to  study 31 

g.  The  assignment  lesson 32 

h.  The  recitation  lesson 32 

t.  The  review  lesson 33 

j.  The  socializing  phases  of  school  work 34 

2.  These  exercises  not  mutally  exclusive 34 

3.  Types  of  teaching  not  to  be  regarded  as  special  methods    .  34 

Summary 36 

Exercises  ....  36 


V.  EXERCISES  WHICH  AIM  AT  THE  DISCOVERY 
OF  GENERAL  KNOWLEDGE.    THE  INDUCTIVE 

LESSON 

1.  The  purpose  of  the  inductive  lesson 38 

2.  The  formal  steps  involved  in  inductive  teaching    ...  41 
a.  The  preparation 42 

(1)  Bringing  the  problem  or  motive  to  consciousness   .  42 

(2)  Reproducing  or  recalling  ideas  needed  for  the  under- 
standing of  the  new  lesson 43 

6.  The  presentation 44 

(1)  Forms  of  presentation 44 

(2)  Necessity  of  abundant  material 45 

(3)  Necessity  of  variety 45 

(4)  Necessity  of  making  essential  features  prominent   .  46 

c.  The  comparison 47 

(1)  Purpose  of  this  step 47 

(2)  Aids  to  comparison 48 

(3)  The  comparison  to  be  made  by  the  class    ...  48 

d.  The  generalization 49 

(1)  Forms  of  generalized  knowledge 49 

(2)  The  framing  of  the  generalization 50 

(3)  Verification 50 

3.  Advantages  of  this  type  of  lesson 51 

4.  Limitations  of  the  method 52 

Summary 53 

Exercises 54 


OUTLINE  267 

VI.  LESSONS  IN  WHICH  GENERAL   KNOWLEDGE 
IS  EMPLOYED.   THE  DEDUCTIVE  LESSON 

1.  What  is  meant  by  deduction 55 

2.  Deduction  in  its  relation  to  the  inductive  process        .      .  56 

3.  Steps  or  stages  in  a  deductive  exercise 58 

a.  The  problem 58 

b.  The  study  of  details  and  principles 58 

c.  The  hypothesis  or  inference 69 

d.  Verification  of  hypothesis  finally  selected   ....  61 

4.  Use  of  textbooks  in  deductions 64 

5.  Suggestions  in  regard  to  the  use  of  the  deductive  process  .  65 

Summary 67 

Exercises 69 

VII.  THE  STUDY  OF  OBJECTS  AND  ACTIVITIES 

1.  The  nature  of  the  object  lesson 70 

2.  The  relation  of  the  object  lesson  to  the  inductive  lesson  .  71 

3.  The  need  of  the  step  of  preparation  in  the  object  lesson   .  72 

4.  The  teaching  of  the  new  lesson 73 

o.  Observation  to  be  limited  to  facts  bearing  on  the  aim  .  73 
b.  Trying  to  cover  too  many  details  in  one  lesson  to  be 

avoided 73 

e.  All  pupils  to  come  in  contact  with  the  new  facta  ...  74 

d.  Central  or  important  facts  which  all  should  learn.  Indi- 
vidual assignments 74 

e.  Class  to  be  held  responsible  for  results        ....  74 

6.  Planning  the  object  lesson 75 

6.  Providing  illustrative  material 75 

Summary 78 

Exercises 78 

Vin.  THE  ASSIGNMENT  OF  LESSONS 

1.  The  purpose  of  the  assignment 80 

2.  Kinds  of  lessons  which  may  involve  an  assignment     .       .  80 

3.  When  the  assignment  should  be  made 81 

4.  What  it  should  do  specifically  for  the  class  in  regard  to 
subject-matter 82 

6.  How  the  assignment  should  help  with  methods  of  study    .  85 

6.  Need  of  indicating  sources  of  data  in  the  assignment    .       .  86 

7.  Class  and  individual  assignments 87 

8.  Page  assignments 88 

9.  The  assignment  book  and  clear  assignments    ....  88 
10.  Effect  of  proper  assignment  upon  the  interest  and  effort  of 

pupils 89 

Summary 91 

Exercises ..91 


268  OUTLINE 


IX.  THE  RECITATION  EXERCISE 

1.  What  the  recitation  is 93 

2.  What  material  may  constitute  its  subject-matter         .       .  93 

3.  Forms  of  the  recitation  lesson 94 

a.  Verbatim  reproduction  of  matter  read         ....  94 
6.  Unorganized  account  of  reading,  observation,  experi- 
ments or  other  investigation 95 

c.  Topical  recitation 96 

d.  Question-and-answer  recitation.   Classes  of  Questions   .  97 

4.  The  amplification  and  correction  of  data  collected  by  the 
pupils.    New  questions  raised.   Value  of  books  determined  101 

5.  How  the  notebooks  may  be  made  helpful        ....  104 

6.  Learning  to  follow  the  recitations  in  class        ....  105 

Summary 106 

Exercises 107 


X.  THE  AROUSAL  AND  GUIDANCE  OF 
APPRECIATION 

1.  The  reason  for  this  type  of  lesson 109 

2.  The  kinds  of  appreciation  to  be  considered     .      .      .       .110 

a.  Social 110 

6.  .(Esthetic Ill 

3.  In  what  worth  may  consist Ill 

4.  Some  suggestions  as  to  how  appreciation  may  be  aroused  or 
influenced 115 

6.  General  suggestions  for  the  teacher 125 

Summary 127 

Exercises .  128 


XI.  SOCIALIZING  EXERCISES 

1.  What  the  socializing  exercises  are  intended  to  accomplish  .  130 

2.  Forms  these  exercises  may  take 131 

a.  Acquisition  of  knowledge  of  social  conditions,  needs, 

and  activities 131 

6.  School  activities  involving  cooperation  or  consideration 

of  the  welfare  of  others 134 

e.  Organization  of  activities  which  function  in  the  school 

neighborhood  or  community 140 

3.  Helps  which  the  teacher  may  employ  in  developing  social 

insight,  attitudes  and  habits 141 

a.  Social  instincts  of  pupils    .     ' 141 

6.  Subject-matter 142 

e.  Organization  of  school.  Community  help    ....  146 

d.  Teacher's  own  spirit  and  attitude 146 


OUTLINE  269 

e.  Miscellaneous  helps 147 

Summary 148 

Exercises 149 

XII.  THE  FORMATION  OF  HABITS  AND  THE 
INCREASE  OF  SKILL 

1.  Reason  for  such  exercises 150 

2.  The  field  included  in  habit-forming  exercises         .       .       .  152 

3.  Procedure  in  habit-formation 154 

4.  The  laws  of  habit-formation 161 

5.  The  necessity  of  attention 164 

6.  The  necessity  of  accuracy 166 

7.  The  necessity  of  increasing  facility  and  rapidity    .      .      .  168 

8.  Discontinuing  drill 169 

9.  Memorizing  a  habit-forming  exercise 170 

10.  Learning  facts  which  belong  in  a  series 172 

11.  The  step  of  application  as  habit-formation      ....  173 

12.  Teaching  pupils  to  direct  the  formation  of  their  own  habits .  174 

Summary 175 

Exercises 176 

XIII.  SCHOOL  EXERCISES  WHICH  INVOLVE 
REVIEW 

1.  What  is  meant  by  review 178 

2.  When  reviews  are  helpful  or  necessary 180 

3.  Suggestions  for  conducting  review  exercises     ....  182 
a.  Review  of  old  knowledge  to  form  basis  for  solution  of 

new  problem 182 

6.  Review  to  discover  whether  all  of  the  material  concerned 

with  a  problem  has  been  included  and  mastered  .  .  183 

c.  Review  in  application  and  drill 185 

4.  Training  pupils  into  right  ideas  and  conscious  method  of 
review 186 

5.  General  suggestions 187 

a.  The  teacher's  preparation  for  a  review  exercise .       .       .  187 

b.  The  time  given  to  review 188 

c.  Profiting  from  reviews  as  tests 189 

Summary 190 

Exercises 191 

XIV.  TRAINING  PUPILS  TO  STUDY 

1.  The  nature  of  study 192 

2.  What  may  be  done  during  a  study  period       ....  196 

3.  Training  pupils  for  independent  study 199 

a.  Training  to  find  the  aim  or  problem 199 

b.  Training  to  judge  of  hypotheses 202 


270  OUTLINE ' 

e.  Collecting  and  valuing  data 204 

d.  Teaching  to  organize  material 205 

e.  Deferring  conclusions  and  forming  independent  judg- 
ments         207 

/.  Testing  conclusions 209 

g.  Thoughtful  memorizing 211 

4.  Suggestions  to  the  teacher 214 

5.  Testing  classes  and  teachers 216 

Exercises 218 

XV.  MAKING  LESSON  PLANS 

1.  Why  a  lesson  plan  is  necessary 220 

2.  What  a  plan  should  include 221 

a.  Subject-matter 221 

(1)  The  specific  purposes  to  be  accomplished  through 
the  subject-matter  included  in  the  plan      .       .       .  222 

(2)  The  subject-matter  as  a  whole  or  in  outline  perspec- 
tive      224 

6.  Class  procedure 224 

(1)  The  development  of  the  pupils'  aim     ....  225 

(2)  The  method  of  treating  the  subject-matter        .       .  227 

(3)  The  provision  for  reviews,  summaries,  drills,  and 
assignments 229 

(4)  References   and   illustrative   material   to   be   em- 
ployed         229 

(5)  The  verification  and  application 230 

3.  Teaching  from  the  plan 231 

4.  Some  considerations  in  plan-making 232 

a.  Impossibility  of  complete  plans  in  all  subjects         .       .  232 

6.  Learning  to  shorten  the  process  of  plan-making      .       .  233 

e.  Complete  plans  necessary  at  times 234 

d.  Making  plans  cannot  safely  be  discontinued     .       .       .  234 

Summary 235 

APPENDIX 

Suggestions  for  lesson  plans 237 

Lesson  plan  in  reading  for  the  first  grade         .       .  .  239 


Lesson  plan  in  composition  for  the  second  grade   . 
Lesson  plan  in  composition  for  the  third  grade 
Lesson  plan  in  nature  study  for  the  third  grade    . 
Lesson  plan  in  language  for  the  fourth  grade 
Short  lesson  plan  in  geography  for  the  fourth  grade 
An  inductive  development  lesson  in  arithmetic 
Lesson  plan  in  geography  for  the  sixth  grade 
Lesson  plan  in  geography  for  the  sixth  grade 


241 
242 
244 
246 
248 
249 
251 
255 


First  lesson  of  a  series  in  oral  reading 260 

Plans  for  lesson  assignments 262 


INDEX 


Accomplishments,  13. 

Accuracy,  necessity  of,  in  forma- 
tion of  habit,  166-68. 

Acquired  modes  of  acting,  20. 

Action,  many  forms  of,  3;  needs 
of  transmitting  modes  of,  3,  4; 
forms  of,  change,  7, 8;  acquired 
modes  of,  20;  study  of,  29,  70- 
78. 

Activity.  See  Action. 

/Esthetic  appreciation,  111. 

Agriculture,  schools  of,  10. 

Aim,  need  of  a,  182, 193;  training 
to  find,  199-202;  the  teacher's, 
222-24;  development  of  the 
pupil's,  221,  225-27. 

Amplification  and  correction  of 
data  collected  by  pupils,  101- 
04. 

Application,  the,  step  in  inductive 
process,  42, 56-58, 71;  as  habit- 
formation,  173;  review  in,  185, 
186;  in  lesson  plans,  221,  230, 
231. 

Appreciation,  exercise  in,  a  type 
of  lesson,  30,  31 ;  the  reason  for 
this  type,  109,  110;  social,  110, 
111;  aesthetic,  111;  in  what 
worth  as  object  of,  may  con- 
sist, 111-15;  suggestions  as  to 
how  it  may  be  aroused  or 
influenced,  115-25;  basis  of, 
founded  on  knowledge,  125; 
over-analysis  fatal  to,  125, 126; 
teacher  must  have,  126; 
sometimes  slow  in  developing 
and  not  equally  distributed, 
126, 127;  should  be  turned  into 
action,  127;  summary  of  dis- 
cussion of,  127,  128. 

Approval,  forms  of,  of  teacher  or 
parent,  158. 


Arithmetic,  methods  and  sub- 
jects of,  8,  9,  11;  inductive 
method  possible  in  teaching 
of,  40;exampleofteachingpro- 
cess  in,  61 ;  socializing  content 
of,  143-46 ;  definiteness  of  thing 
required  needed  in,  200,  201. 

Art,  group  work  in,  137. 

Assignment  lesson,  the,  32. 

Assignment  of  lessons,  the  pur- 
pose of,  80;  kinds  of  lessons 
which  may  involve,  80,  81 ; 
when  it  should  be  made,  81, 82; 
what  it  should  do  specifically 
for  the  class  in  regard  to  sub- 
ject-matter, 82-85;  how  it 
should  help  with  methods  of 
study,  85, 86;  need  of  indicating 
sources  of  data  in,  86,  87;  class 
and  individual,  87;  page,  88; 
clear,  88,  89;  books  for,  88,  89; 
effect  of  proper,  upon  interest 
and  effort  of  pupils,  89,  90; 
summary  of  discussion  of,  91; 
provision  for,  in  lesson  plans, 
221,  229. 

Athletic  sports,  138. 

Attention,  necessity  of,  in  forma- 
tion of  habit,  164-66. 

Attitudes  and  feelings,  17,  18. 

Automatism,  152. 

Books,  subject-matter  frequently 
associated  with  contents  of,  1 ; 
subject-matter  first  exists  out- 
side of,  1;  on  primitive  life,  2; 
effect  of,  upon  subject-matter, 
5;  some  material  in,  not  fitted 
to  social  conditions,  8-10;  use 
of,  in  education,  28,  29;  use 
of,  in  deduction,  64;  teaching 
geometry  without,  84;  assign- 


272 


INDEX 


ment,  83,  89;  value  of,  deter- 
mined, 101-04. 

Bryant,  W.  C.,  "The  New  and 
the  Old,"  study  of,  118,  119; 
"Lines  to  a  Waterfowl,"  119, 
120. 

Bulletin  boards,  a  help  in  social- 
izing school  work,  147. 

Business,  forms  and  methods 
used  by,  8,  9. 

Calculation,  methods  of,  9. 

Capacities  and  instincts,  18,  19. 

Charters,  Professor,  his  defini- 
tion of  subject-matter,  112. 

Civics,  group  work  in,  136,  142, 
143. 

Civil  War,  study  in,  121,  122. 

Class  and  individual  assignments, 
87. 

Class  officers,  138. 

Class  procedure,  types  of,  28-37; 
in  lesson  plans,  221,  224-31. 

Classes,  testing,  216-18. 

Classical  languages,  the,  11,  12, 
146. 

Clubs,  school,  140,  141. 

Community  help,  134-41,  146. 

Comparison,  the,  step  in  induc- 
tive process,  42,  47-49,  71. 

Competition,  156-58,  168. 

Conclusions,  deferring  of,  194, 
195,  207-09;  verifying  and  ap- 
plying, 195-97;  testing,  209- 
II. 

Cooking,  group  work  in,  137; 
credit  given  for  home  work  in, 
146. 

Cooperation  in  school  work,  184- 
40. 

Correlation  of  ideas,  180,  181, 
188. 

"Daisies,"  the  memorizing  of, 
171. 

Data,  sources  of,  need  of  indi- 
cating, in  the  assignment,  86, 
87;  amplification  and  correc- 
tion of,  101-04;  collecting,  194. 


196,  197,  204,  205;  valuing. 
204,  205.  • 

Debating,  group  work  in,  137. 

Deduction,  its  meaning,  55,  56; 
as  related  to  induction,  56-58; 
steps  or  stages  in,  58-63;  use 
of  textbooks  in,  64;  Professor 
Dewey  quoted  on  use  of,  66, 
67;  suggestions  in  regard  to 
use  of,  65-67;  summary  of  dis- 
cussion of,  67,  68. 

Deductive  lesson,  type  of  class 
procedure,  29,  30. 

Details,  study  of,  in  deductive 
exercise,  58, 59 ;  too  much  study 
of,  73. 

Dewey,  Professor,  quoted  on  use 
of  deduction,  66,  67. 

Discipline,  doctrine  of,  11;  valid- 
ity of  doctrine  of,  130. 

Discussion  of  pupils'  reports,  101. 

Dramatization,  group  work  in, 
137. 

Drill,  31,  152-30,  163-69,  178; 
discontinuing,  169,  171-75; 
review  in,  185,  186;  provision 
for,  in  lesson  plans,  221,  229. 

Education,  where  it  must  begin 
and  equipment  on  which  it 
must  build,  16-21;  the  remak- 
ing of  experience  the  aim  of, 
22, 23;  should  aim  toward  social 
content  or  value  of  experience, 
24,  25;  should  increase  control 
over  values,  25,  26;  types  of 
class  procedure  in,  28-37;  deals 
with  more  than  gaining  of 
ideas  and  logical  thinking,  109. 

Effort,  effect  of  proper  assign- 
ment upon,  89,  90. 

Emotional  states,  are  communi- 
cable, 126;  should  be  directed 
to  some  activity,  1 27. 

End.  See  Aim. 

English.  See  Language,  Litera- 
ture, Grammar. 

Errors,  sources  of,  102-04. 

Excursions,  74. 


INDEX 


273 


Exercise,  the  telling,  28,  29;  in- 
ductive, 29,  30,  38,  54;  deduc- 
tive, 29,  30,  55-69;  object,  29, 
70-79;  to  arouse  appreciation, 
80,  81,  109-29;  study,  31,  32; 
for  formation  of  habits  and 
increase  of  skill,  31,  150-77; 
drill,  31,  152-60,  163-75;  as- 
signment, 82,  80-92;  recita- 
tion, 32,  83,  93-108;  review, 
83,  178-91;  socializing,  34t, 
130-49. 

Experience,  what  it  is,  16-20,  22; 
education  a  remaking  and  ex- 
tending of,  22,  23;  to  be  remade 
in  the  direction  of  more  so- 
cialized content,  24,  25;  to  be 
remade  through  increased  in- 
dividual control  over  values, 
25,26. 

Feelings  and  attitudes,  17,  18. 
Five  Formal  Steps,  the,  52. 
Foreign  languages,   teaching  of, 

85;  socializing  of,  146. 
Formal  steps  of  instruction,  42- 

51. 
Functions  of  subject-matter,  10- 

14. 

Games,  138. 

Gardening,  credit  given  for  home 
work  in,  146. 

General  knowledge,  exercises 
which  aim  at  the  discovery  of, 
88-54;  lessons  in  which  it  is 
employed,  55-69. 

Generalization,  the,  step  in  in- 
ductive process,  42,  49—51,  71 . 

Geography,  sometimes  taught 
as  form  of  discipline,  11;  the 
teaching  of,  built  on  experi- 
ence, 23;  inductive  method  pos- 
sible in  teaching  of,  41;  use  of 
object  lesson  in  teaching  of, 
70,  73;  planning  in  object  of, 
75;  socialized,  132,  183;  group 
work  in,  186;  training  for 
study  in,  200. 


Geometry,  taught  without  text- 
books, 84. 

George  Junior  Republic,  140. 

Grammar,  sometimes  taught  as 
form  of  discipline,  11;  induc- 
tive method  possible  in  teach- 
ing of,  40;  use  of  deduction  in 
teaching  of,  65. 

Group  work,  135-87. 

Gymnasia,  12. 

Habits,  acquired  modes  of  be- 
havior, 20;  fixed  or  in  the  proc- 
ess of  formation,  20;  exercise 
for  formation  of,  a  type  of 
teaching,  81;  reason  for  exer- 
cise for  formation  of,  150-52; 
the  field  included  in  exercises 
for  formation  of,  152-5-1;  pro- 
cedure in  formation  of,  154-60; 
laws  of  formation  of,  161-64; 
necessity  of  attention  in  forma- 
tion of,  164-66;  necessity  of  ac- 
curacy in  formation  of,  166-68; 
necessity  of  increasing  facility 
and  rapidity  in,  168,  169; 
memorizing  an  exercise  for 
formation  of,  170-73;  the  step 
of  application  in  formation  of, 
173;  teaching  pupils  to  direct 
the  formation  of  their  own,  174, 
175;  summary  of  discussion  of, 
175,  176. 

History,  sometimes  taught  as 
form  of  discipline,  11;  induc- 
tive method  possible  in  teach- 
ing of,  41:  sample  of  study  in, 
121,  122;  group  work  in,  186: 
training  for  study  in,  200. 

Home  work,  146,  197,  198. 

Hypotheses,  verification  of,  61- 
63,  209-11;  formulating,  194, 
196;  training  to  judge  of,  202- 
04. 

Hypothesis,  the,  in  deductive  ex- 
ercise, 59-61;  verification  of, 
61-63. 

Ideas,  constantly  change,  7,  8; 


274 


INDEX 


more  or  less  complete  and 
more  or  less  organized,  16,  17; 

•  states  of  feeling  associated  with, 
17,  18;  the  study  of,  in  rela- 
tion, 29, 30;  correlation  of,  180, 
181,  188. 

Illustrative  material,  for  nature 
study,  75-77;  to  be  employed 
in  lesson  plans,  221,  229. 

Independence  of  judgment,  207- 
09,211. 

Individual  and  class  assignments, 
87. 

Individual  work  necessary  for 
pupil,  148. 

Induction,  as  related  to  deduc- 
tion, 56-58. 

Inductive  lesson,  one  type  of  class 
procedure,  29,  30;  the  purpose 
of,  38-41;  formal  steps  in- 
volved in,  41-51;  advantages 
of,  51,  52;  limitations  of,  52, 
53;  summary  of  discussion  of, 
53;  relation  of  object  lesson  to, 
71. 

Inductive-deductive  lesson,  56. 

Inference,  the,  in  deductive  exer- 
cise, 59-61. 

Instincts,  what  is  meant  by,  18; 
classification  of,  19;  not  all 
present  at  birth,  19;  educa- 
tion must  build  on,  19;  a  part 
of  experience,  22;  of  pupils, 
social,  141. 

Instruction,  subject-matter  of. 
See  Subject-matter. 

Interest,  effect  of  proper  assign- 
ment upon,  89,  90. 

Inventions,  2,  3. 

James,  William,  his  laws  of  habit- 
formation,  161,  162. 

Jones,  Dr.  Thomas  J.,  quoted  on 
study  of  civics  in  the  schools, 
142,  143. 

Knowledge,  socialized  and  un- 
socialized,  24, 25;  general,  exer- 
cises which  aim  at  the  discov- 


ery of,  88-54;  general,  lessons 
in  which  it  is  employed,  55-69. 

Language,  inductive  method  pos- 
sible in  teaching  of,  40,  41. 

Latin,  12.  See  Classical  languages. 

Lecture  method,  the,  28,  29. 

Lesson,  the  assignment  of,  80-92. 
See  Exercise. 

Lesson  plans,  making,  220-36; 
why  necessary,  220,  221;  what 
they  should  include,  221-31; 
teaching  from,  231,  232;  can- 
not be  complete  in  all  subjects, 
232;  learning  to  shorten  the 
process  of  making,  233,  234; 
complete,  necessary  at  times, 
234;  not  safe  to  discontinue 
process  of  making,  234,  235; 
summary  of  discussion  of,  235. 
236. 

Literature,  study  of  samples  of, 
118-21;  group  work  in,  137; 
training  for  study  in,  200. 

Little  Mothers'  Clubs,  141. 

Manual  training,  group  work  in, 
137;  credit  given  for  home  work 
in,  146. 

Material,  illustrative,  for  nature 
study,  75-77;  of  recitation,  93, 
94;  collecting  and  valuing,  204, 
205;  teaching  to  organize,  205- 
07;  illustrative,  to  be  employed 
in  lesson  plans,  221,  229.  See 
Data. 

Mathematics,  forms  and  meth- 
ods of,  8,  9,  11;  the  teaching 
of,  built  on  experience,  23;  use 
of  induction  in  teaching  of,  40; 
use  of  deduction  in  teaching 
of,  65.  See  Arithmetic,  Geome- 
try. 

Memorizing,  94,  95,  150,  170-73, 
195,  197,  231;  thoughtful,  211- 
14. 

Mental  training,  11,  12. 

Millet,  "The  Gleaners,"  study 
of,  115-17. 


INDEX 


275 


Monitors,  139. 

Motives  to  drill,  need  of,  154; 
sources  of,  155-59. 

Moving  pictures,  a  help  in  so- 
cializing school  work,  147. 

Music,  as  taught  in  schools,  9; 
education  in  appreciation  of, 
123-25;  group  work  in,  137. 

Nature  study,  inductive  method 
possible  in,  40,  72;  illustrative 
material  to  be  provided  for, 
75-77;  to  be  arranged  with  re- 
ference to  favorable  seasons, 
77;  reflection  necessary  in 
problems  of,  201. 

Necessity,  a  motive  to  drill,  159. 

Need,  feeling  of,  necessary,  ]82, 
183,  192,  193. 

Newspapers,  a  help  in  socializing 
school  work,  147. 

Notebooks,  88,  89,  104,  105. 

Object  lesson,  one  type  of  class 
procedure,  29;  nature  of,  70, 
71;  relation  of,  to  the  inductive 
lesson,  71;  need  of  the  step  of 
preparation  in,  72,  73;  the 
teaching  of,  73-75;  the  plan- 
ning of,  75;  the  providing  of 
illustrative  material  for,  75-77; 
summary  of  discussion  of,  78. 

Organization,  of  schoplandschool- 
neighborhood  activities,  134- 
41,  146;  of  material,  teaching 
for,  205;-07. 

Organizations,  school,  140,  141. 

Outlines,  topical,  85,  86,  96,  97, 
206,  212;  in  lesson  plans,  221, 
224,  225. 

Over-analysis  fatal  to  apprecia- 
tion, 125,  126. 

Page  assignments,  88. 
Parents'  associations,  141. 
Periodicals,  a  help  in  socializing 

school  work,  147. 
Perspective,    outlines   for,    221, 

224,225. 


Picture,  study  of  a,  1 15-17. 

Pictures,  a  help  in  socializing 
school  work,  147. 

Plans,  lesson.   See  Lesson  plans. 

Plays,  138. 

Pleasure,  element  of,  in  subject- 
matter,  13,  14. 

Poem,  study  of  a,  118,  119. 

Poetry,  memorizing,  170-72. 

"Point  of  contact,"  225. 

Power,  cultivation  of,  130. 

Prejudices,  18,  22. 

Preparation,  the,  step  of  induc- 
tive process,  42-44,  71-73. 

Preparatory  value  of  studies,  12, 
IS. 

Presentation,  the,  step  of  induc- 
tive process,  42,  44-47,  71,  73- 
75. 

Principles,  study  of,  in  deductive 
exercise,  58,  59. 

Problem,  the,  in  deduction,  58; 
realizing  a,  192,  193,  196,  197; 
training  to  find,  199-202. 

Punctuation,  marks  of,  as  taught 
in  schools  and  as  used  by  busi- 
ness people,  8. 

Question-and-answer  recitation, 

97-101. 
Questions,  classes  of,  97-101;  to 

be   brought   by   pupils,    101; 

new,  raised   in  class,  101-04; 

place  of,  in  lesson  plans,  227, 

228. 

Recitation,  what  it  is,  93;  what 
material  may  constitute  its 
subject-matter,  93,  94;  rote, 
94,  95;  topical,  96,  97;  ques- 
tion-and-answer,  97-1 01 ;  learn- 
ing to  follow,  in  class,  105, 106; 
summary  of  discussion  of, 
106. 

Recitation  lesson,  a  type  of  class 
procedure,  32,  33;  discussion 
of,  93-106;  forms  of,  94^101. 

Record,  pride  in,  a  motive  to 
drill,  159. 


276 


INDEX 


References,  to  be  employed  in 
lesson  plans,  221,  229. 

Relation,  the  study  of  ideas  in, 
29,  30.  See  Deduction,  Induc- 
tion. 

Repetition,  law  of,  162-64;  value 
of,  185;  iu  memorizing,  212, 
213. 

Reports  of  pupils,  discussion  of, 
101. 

Review,  what  is  meant  by,  178- 
80;  when  helpful  and  necessary, 
180-82;  suggestions  for  con- 
ducting, 182-86;  of  old  knowl- 
edge to  form  basis  for  solution 
of  new  problem,  182,  183;  to 
discover  whether  all  of  the  ma- 
terial concerned  with  a  prob- 
lem has  been  included  and 
mastered,  183-85;  in  applica- 
tion and  drill,  185, 186;  training 
into  conscious  method  of,  186, 
187;  the  teacher's  preparation 
for,  187,  188;  the  time  given 
to,  188,  189;  profiting  from, 
as  test,  189,  190;  summary  of 
discussion  of,  190,  191;  pro- 
vision for,  in  lesson  plans,  22] , 
229. 

Review  lesson,  33,  178-91. 

Rote  recitations,  94,  95,  213. 

Rowe,  Dr.  S.  H.,  on  habit,  20, 
152. 

School,  organization  of,  134-41, 
146. 

School  housekeeping,  137, 138. 

School  organizations,  140,  141. 

Schools,  subject-matter  of  the, 
and  changing  social  conditions, 
8-10;  technical,  10;  of  agricul- 
ture, 10;  why  intrinsic  func- 
tion of  subject-matter  is  not 
made  more  prominent  in,  10- 
13;  isolation  of,  10. 

Science,  group  work  in,  137. 

Self-competition,  157,  158,  168. 

Series,  learning  facts  in  a,  172, 
173. 


Sewing,  group  work  in,  137; 
credit  given  for  home  work  in, 
146. 

"Silas  Marner,"  study  of,  112, 
113. 

Skill,  exercise  for  the  increase  of, 
a  type  of  teaching,  31;  reason 
for  exercise  for  increase  of,  150- 
52;  Thorndike  quoted  on,  150, 
151;  necessity  of  attention  in 
increase  of,  164-66;  necessity 
of  accuracy  in  increase  of,  166" 
68;  necessity  of  increasing 
facility  and  rapidity  in,  168, 
169.  See  Habits. 

Social  appreciation,  110,  111. 

Social  conditions,  subject-mat- 
ter of  the  schools  and,  8-10. 

Social  instincts  of  pupils,  141. 

Social  Service  League,  140. 

Socialized  knowledge,  24,  25,  34, 
13(^34,  142-46. 

Socializing  lesson,  type  of  class 
procedure,  34;  what  it  at- 
tempts to  accomplish,  130, 131; 
forms  of,  13] -41;  helps  for 
teacher  in  conducting,  141- 
48;  summary  of  discussion  of, 
148,  149. 

Socializing  phases  of  school  work, 
34,  130.  See  Socializing  lesson. 

Societies,  school,  140,  141. 

Sources  of  data,  need  of  indicat- 
ing, in  the  assignment,  86,  87; 
errors  of  pupils  due  to,  101- 
04;  use  of,  204,  205. 

Spelling,  inductive  method  pos- 
sible in  teaching  of,  40;  drill 
needful  for,  156-58. 

Stereopticon,  a  help  in  socializing 
school  work,  147. 

Stereoscope,  a  help  in  socializing 
school  work,  147. 

Study,  the  training  in  methods 
of,  31,  32;  how  the  assignment 
should  help  with  methods  of, 
85,  86;  home,  146,  197,  198; 
training  pupils  to,  192-219;  the 
nature  of.  192-96;  what  may 


INDEX 


27? 


be  done  during  period  of,  196- 
09;  training  pupils  for  inde- 
pendent, 199-214;  summary 
of  discussion  of,  218,  219. 

Subject-matter,  need  of  under- 
standing what  it  is,  1;  where 
it  first  exists,  1-3;  what  it  was 
originally,  4;  the  integral  na- 
ture of,  5;  effect  of  books  upon, 
5;  is  modifiable,  5-7;  the  devel- 
opment of  new,  7,  8;  of  the 
schools,  and  changing  social 
conditions,  8-10;  why  intrinsic 
function  of,  is  not  made  more 
prominent  in  schools,  10-13; 
functions  of,  10-14;  as  means 
of  mental  training,  11;  as  pre- 
paratory in  function,  12;  the 
pleasure  element  in,  13,  14; 
summary  of  discussion  of,  14; 
what  the  assignment  should  do 
specifically  for  the  class  in  re- 
gard to,  82-85;  of  recitation, 
material  which  may  constitute, 
93,  94;  Prof.  Charters's  defini- 
tion of,  112;  socializing  of,  131- 
84, 142-46;  included  in  the  les- 
son plan,  purposes  to  be  accom- 
plished through,  221-24;  as  a 
whole  or  in  outline  perspec- 
tive, 221,  224,  225;  method  of 
treating  the,  221,  227,  228. 

Summaries,  use  of,  221,  229. 

Synopses,  96. 

Teacher,  spirit  and  attitude  of, 
146,  147;  preparation  of,  for 
review  exercise,  187, 188;  test- 
ing, 216-18;  his  task  highly 


complicated,  220;  need  of  his 
making  lesson  plans,  220.  221; 
his  aims,  222-24. 

Team  work,  138. 

Technical  schools,  10. 

Telling  exercise,  the,  28,  29. 

Testing  conclusions,  209-11. 

Tests,  profiting  from  reviews  as, 
189, 190;  of  classes  and  teachers, 
216-18. 

Textbooks,  use  of,  in  deduction, 
64;  studying  geometry  with- 
out, 84. 

Theories.  See  Hypotheses. 

Thorndike,  E.  L.,  quoted  on 
skill,  150,  151;  on  distribution 
of  drills,  169;  on  training  to 
judge  of  hypotheses,  204. 

Thought,  many  forms  of,  3;  need 
of  transmitting  products  of,  3, 
4;  forms  of,  change,  7,  8. 

Thoughtful  memorizing,  211- 
14. 

Topical  outlines,  85,  86,  206, 212, 
221,  224,  225. 

Topical  recitation,  96,  97. 

Training,  into  right  ideas  and 
conscious  method  of  review, 
'  186,  187;  to  study,  192-219. 

Types  of  class  procedure,  28-37. 

Unorganized  account  of  reading, 
95. 

Verbatim  reproduction  of  mat' 
ter  read,  94,  95. 

Words,  pupils'  difficulties  with, 
84,  85,  102,  103. 


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